Carved wooden figures of the Russian North and an exhibition at the Tsereteli Gallery in Moscow

In the Russian North, special 'icons' were venerated: three-dimensional wooden figures of saints set in icon cases, sometimes carved at full length and reaching two metres in height. The oldest such icons in Arkhangelsk date from the 16th century. These original sculptural images were known as carved images, and they formed part of the iconostasis and could stand in the place of a church's principal icon. In the villages the carved figures of saints were adorned with kerchiefs, towels, sashes and other trimmings. And although in 1722 the Synod issued a decree "On the prohibition of keeping in churches icons that are carved, hewn, or generally painted unskilfully or at variance with Holy Scripture", these unique images did not cease to exist: they survived in many churches and homes until the 20th century, and in some places to this day. The photograph of 1958 shows the interior of the Chapel of St Nicholas in the village of Kiselevskaya near the village of Lyadiny. Unique examples of statuary sculpture and ancient icons of the Russian North can be seen at the exhibition "Icons of Kargopol. Revival", which runs until February at the Tsereteli Gallery in Moscow