The martyrs are displayed on the wings are Saint Paraskevi and Saint George. Paraskevi is one of the most revered saints in the Slavic world and is associated with the Slavic deity representing Friday; known as Pyatnitsa (Hubbs, 1993) Saint George is depicted wearing the red cloak of a martyr. The image of the Virgin follows the Hodegetria type, with Christ’s right hand raised in blessing.

Triptychs painted on panels of beech or alder were common in many Slavic countries across the Balkans and especially in Bulgaria, where this example was made. The research of Dr Yuri Pyatnitsky at the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg reveals that icons of this type were created between the 17th and 19th centuries in Bulgaria. These works are painted in a style that Pyatnitsky calls 'folk primitivism', and have a warm, natural feel with rich, earth colours, bold forms and simple design (Pyatnitsky, 2005).

Bibliography

Hubbs, Joanna. Mother Russia: the feminine myth in Russian culture. Volume 842 of Midland Book (Indiana University Press, 1993), p117.

Pyatnitsky, Yuri in Athos: Monastic Life on the Holy Mountain, (Helsinki, Helsinki City Art Museum, 2005), p. 238