Sculpture of Nikola Mozhaysky from Nikolskaya village in Arkhangelsk Region, 17th century

St Nicholas the Wonderworker (the image of Nikola of Mozhaysk, who, according to legend, defended the town of Mozhaysk from the enemy by appearing above it with a sword), seventeenth-century sculpture from the village of Nikolskaya, Kargopol District, Arkhangelsk Region. The traditional Nikola of Mozhaysk from the Arkhangelsk North is a wooden figure of almost two metres, carved from a single block of deciduous wood and placed in an icon case with doors made of coniferous wood. In one hand Nikola held a sword, in the other a cathedral. The head, wrists, feet, church and sword could be carved from separate pieces. The statue was painted by icon painters and covered with gold and varnish.