By Susan Stevenot Sullivan, Staff Writer

ATLANTA--A horn blast away from the ribbons of sun-baked concrete which form the 1-285/I-75 interchange, the “Sacred Art of Russia From Ivan the Terrible to Peter the Great” exhibit rests in serenity and shadows at the Cobb Galleria Centre.

Billed as the largest display of Russian religious art ever assembled in the United States, the 10-week-long exhibit, May 13 to July 25, includes more than 370 objects from gold chalices to embroidered vestments.

A short orientation film reminds visitors of the facts of life for Russians during the 600 years the exhibition spans--harsh weather, grinding poverty and hostile invasions--centuries when power and plenty were limited to the aristocratic minority.

The union of religion and Russia’s rulers is presented in the film as a pragmatic strategy by Russian rulers to unify the diverse population and give them hope for the future. Vladimir I converted to Christianity in 988 and, in the centuries which followed, Russia became the center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The faith became so important in the lives of the Russian people, according to the film, that its suppression by 20th century government proved ineffective.

The tremulous notes of balalaikas, so familiar from the movie “Dr. Zhivago” are a reminder of the emotions which helped create these silent pieces of art. Music by the Atlanta-based “Troika Balalaikas,” provided on the individual audio tour, is at times brimming which folk dance energy and joy and then shivering in sadness.

Traditional Russian hymns were heard the day the exhibit opened, according to Mary Our Queen parishioner Denise Morrow, a gallery volunteer, who was present when members of the Russian Orthodox Church held a prayer meeting and a bishop blessed the exhibit.

The focal point of the exhibit is a portion of the iconostasis or altar screen from the Cathedral of Smolensk at the Novodevichy Convent in Moscow. This soaring display dominates an entire wall of the exhibit.

Though visitors walking the length of the iconostasis view a multistory “quilt” of icons in which saints, apostles and biblical scenes are represented, what is on view is a mere one-third of the complete screen, which is an unimaginable three times taller than this display, according to exhibit designer Alexander S. Mironov, here from Russia to supervise the exhibit assembly.

Mironov’s design for the iconostasis display emphasizes the idea of windows and doors. The curved displays for individual icons in the exhibit are topped with an indented arch, a design which he intended to represent cradling hands.

“It is as if the icon stand is like the palms of hands holding the icons,” he said through a translator.

“Everything you see here is a masterpiece,” Mironov said. “The American public is very lucky to see this exhibition.”

The icons, those of the iconostasis and others found throughout the display, are stunning in variety and arresting as individual objects. They are of painstakingly embroidered cloth or plainly-carved dark cypress wood or resplendent in richly glowing tempera paint.

One of the largest and most elaborate icons on display is the “Icon of the Pantocrator.” Composed of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, pearls, gold, silver, enamels, wood and tempera, the late 17th-century icon portrays Christ as King of Kings. The pendant around his neck translates “Word of God.”

While the artistic intricacy of the icons is overwhelming, the religious significance is nearly as tangible. Icons, in Eastern Christian spirituality, are literally windows between heaven and earth. They are not to be worshipped, but their stylized depiction of holy people and events provides a focal point for worship. They are believed to retain a presence of every prayer directed through them to divine ears. They are not only manifestations of the wealth and skill of a culture, but of its soul.

“The artist is also a person of prayer. They fast and pray before and while ‘writing’ the icon,” said Mary Ellen Hughes, a member of St. John Chrysostom Melkite Catholic Church in Atlanta. “They use only natural materials. All the figures are stylized and slightly distorted to capture the mystery that because of Christ we can see God, yet we can never really see the divine. Icons express a paradox. Icons express the relationship between heaven and earth.”

Though these sacred objects are no longer the property of the church in Russia, their form does not disguise their original function, even to those hired by the Georgia International Cultural Exchange to take a practical approach to the exhibition by making display cases and rigging lights.

James Woody, a contractor from Fayette who helped assemble the exhibit, spent hours with the fragile objects.

“The sanctity of this art is probably its greatest value,” he said. “Anyone with a tendency in that direction, whatever their faith, realizes the beauty lies in the sanctity of the art itself. Lives were given for these pearls.”

“The fact that the Russians realized that they couldn’t squash the church is important,” said Woody, a member of the Church of Nazarene. “I recognize that worship to them is just as important as my worship is to me.”

Among the most breathtaking vessels in the collection are elaborate ciboria resembling miniature buildings in precious metals. The small container where the Eucharist is reserved in the center is often styled as a tomb or coffin. Artistic intricacy is also lavished on Bible covers, wedding crowns, chalices and other vessels encrusted with jewels, enameled portraits and precious metals.”

The viewer can be brought to reality again by the intentions which caused such items to be fashioned. There is a folding triple icon depicting the Trinity, the Mother of God and St. Nicholas. In 1915 it was given by “the grateful and loving parishioners” of the village of Karacharovo to their priest on the occasion of 25 years as pastor.

A narrow, rectangular icon with a silver frame was made to record the exact length of the newly-born Tsarevna Evdoica Miloslavskaia, daughter of Tzar Alexis. The icon depicts the saint for whom the princess was named.

For Gudmund Vigtel, executive director of the exhibit, the most fascinating item is a gracefully decorated holy water receptacle of silver and gilt. Its commissioner, the favorite son of Ivan the Terrible, never saw it completed because he was killed by his father during one of the czar’s rages. As part of the paternal penance, the finished basin was presented to the Novodevichy Convent in 1581.

The sacred objects were entwined into other aspects of life, including the military. Displayed is a religious icon of the Viatsky infantry made in 1812, but reworked in 1828 and 1829, in memory of members killed in action during those years.

Imperial pomp and circumstances are represented as well. A floor-length vestment, one of more than two dozen displayed, glittering with the imperial double-headed eagle worked in gold thread, was made for a clerical participant in the coronation of Nicholas II. The “saccos” was individually tailored to a specific person and it is surprising to note that this person was exactly one’s own size.

According to Olga Gordeeva, all items in this collection are from three locations in Moscow: the State Historical Museum, the Novodevichy Convent and St. Basil’s Cathedral. The State Historical Museum, where she is curator of the textile department, has charge of the items at all three locations.

Textile icons are displayed in a room separated from the rest of the exhibit. Both men and women were members of famous workshops which produced the sacred textiles, Ms. Gordeeva explained through an interpreter.

Patterns and figures were first designed by famous artist, then the most senior woman at the workshop would embroider the flesh portions of the piece, usually the face and hands. Other craftspeople would do the remaining embroidery, which usually included lavish use of metallic thread. A literate person would add the calligraphy to the piece which would then be embroidered as well.

The workshops were attached to cathedrals, but were also found in the homes of aristocrats. Some of the most famous were part of women’s monasteries, she said.

Many of the pieces of textile art took years to make, she said, though the largest in this collection is perhaps three by four feet. Few have known dates or names associated with them.

One exception, an “Epitaphios” or embroidery depicting the burial of Christ, was made in 1625. More significantly, she said, it was donated to the church by one of Russia’s most famous heroes, Prince Dimitry Petrovich Pozharsky, who defeated the Polish army and reestablished Russian rule in Russia.

Many of Ms. Gordeeva’s favorite pieces are from the second half of the 17th century. They are embroidered in almost microscopic detail, some with the double-ringed “spectacled” eyes which were common during that period.

Whatever century the sacred objects were completed some of the most common motifs in the exhibit include Christ, the Madonna and Child, John the Baptist and St. George with the dragon. Multiwinged angels hover in fabric, gold, paint and wood.

“I feel very reverent when I’m in there,” Ms. Morrow said of her volunteer duties. “It’s very awe-inspiring.”

The exhibition was brought to the Cobb Galleria Centre by the Georgia International Cultural Exchange, a Georgia-based privately-funded, non-profit arts organization. Some proceeds from the exhibition will be returned to the State Historical Museum in Moscow to assist in restoration and preservation of art objects.

Though in the shadow of politics and privilege, the artists and artisans whose skills and vision turned thread, precious metals, paper and wood into sacred objects have left a glittering, yet reverent legacy which, like the people and their faith, has endured the harsh twists of history.

The exhibition is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets are for a specific day and time and may be purchased at the site or charged by phone. Outside Atlanta call (800) 858-1658 or near Atlanta call (404) 858-1658. Prices are: adults $15; children $4; senior citizens (60 and over) and students (with ID) $13.