Vintage Russian Orthodox / ROCOR Photograph Collection – 9 Pieces – Nicholas Petroff Archive
Offered here is a fascinating group of 9 vintage Russian Orthodox photographs from the Nicholas Petroff archive, representing Orthodox clergy, religious ceremonies, church interiors, icons and related religious subjects.
The photographs vary considerably in size and include both color and black-and-white images. Several are traditional photographic prints on Kodak and Fujifilm photographic paper, with processing information visible on the reverse.
Subjects represented in the collection include:
The collection has strong visual associations with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) and the Russian émigré Orthodox community represented throughout the Petroff archive. Holy Trinity Monastery at Jordanville, New York, was a major ROCOR center, and period Jordanville religious photographs and postcards remain a distinct collecting field. Scribd
These photographs were recovered as part of the Nicholas Petroff archive, an extensive collection of Russian émigré family, religious and historical material associated with the Petroff family. Other material from the archive has documented connections with the Russian Orthodox community and Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York.
The photographs are being kept together as found rather than separated, preserving their archival association and context.
Offered is an unusual three-piece collection of Russian Orthodox religious and historical images retrieved from the Nicholas Petroff Archive.
The lot includes Saint John Maximovitch, St. Seraphim of Sarov, and a portrait card captioned “Grand-Duchess Serge in 1912.”
Black-and-white photographic portrait of Saint John Maximovitch (St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco) shown in Orthodox episcopal attire, wearing his distinctive clerical headwear with cross and holding a pastoral staff.
The reverse bears photographic processing/identification markings and numbers.
Saint John Maximovitch was an important 20th-century Russian Orthodox hierarch and is particularly associated with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR).
Condition: Very Good
Vintage religious image depicting St. Seraphim of Sarov, one of the most revered saints of the Russian Orthodox tradition.
The reverse contains a substantial typed Russian-language description concerning the history of the depicted image. The text identifies St. Seraphim of Sarov and discusses the portrait/image having been made during his lifetime, as well as its later history during the Communist era and its preservation afterward.
Condition clarification: The prominent crackled appearance seen across the front is part of the image itself and is not extensive cracking of this physical card. The actual piece has only light age-related wear.
Translation on back: The image of Saint Seraphim of Sarov was painted from life as a full-length portrait. After the canonization of the Saint, it was kept in the Diveevo Monastery. Before the monastery was plundered by the communists, it was taken to Kyiv. In 1943, it was brought to Berlin, then to Wendlingen, and finally to North America, where it is preserved in the Novo-Diveevo Convent as a great Russian holy relic.
Black-and-white portrait of a Russian religious/imperial figure in monastic-style dress.
The caption printed directly beneath the image reads:
“Grand-Duchess Serge in 1912”
The listing intentionally retains the exact identification printed on the original piece rather than assigning a different name or identification.
Condition: Very Good. The card is currently housed in a clear protective sleeve. The water drop is on the plastic, not the card itself. The card is in very good condition.
All three pieces were retrieved from the Nicholas Petroff Archive, a collection containing Russian émigré, Russian Orthodox Church, Holy Trinity Monastery/Jordanville and related historical material.
The three pieces were found within this archive and are being offered together as a single lot to preserve their archival association.
An unusual group combining Russian Orthodox religious history, Saint John Maximovitch, St. Seraphim of Sarov, Imperial Russian imagery, Russian-language material and Russian émigré provenance.