Giovanni Bossi uses gemological knowledge to date Russia's most venerated religious symbol

By Emily Stegman

Giovanni Bossi is drawn to the mystery of the unknown.

It's a drive that has led him to great discoveries time and time again. His curiosity for old Italian cars turned into a collection of documents on forgotten automobile models from companies like Alfa Romeo and Ferrari. Similarly, his early interest in mineral specimens led to the discovery of a new mineral called Chiavennite, named for his hometown in northern Italy.Giovanni Bossi uses gemological knowledge to date Russia's most venerated religious symbol.

Giovanni Bossi meets with Pope John Paul II, who personally requested that he date the Icon of the Holy Virgin of Kazan. After keeping it in his private chapel for 10 years, the pope returned the icon to the Russian people in August 2004. Photo courtesy of Giovanni Bossi.

Bossi's inquisitive nature has been satisfied most over the years, however, by his career in gemology – a passion that has taken him around the world and back.

"After more than 26 years of working in the field, I'm still excited to see beautiful gemstones. Every time I travel to some gem area around the world I check my watch every few minutes before I meet with miners or producers or sellers because I'm so anxious to get to my next destination," Bossi said.

"In a few words, I like my work very much!"

Bossi makes travel a priority and regularly visits some of the world's best-known mine sectors in Brazil, Colombia, Africa, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma and more.

His countless travels have led to involvement in several industry-related projects, such as directing the analysis and development of Zambian gem deposits and aiding the establishment of commercial trade between Europe and the Southern African Development Community.

"I'm always ready to leave on new adventures anywhere in the world," he said.

But he didn't even have to leave the country for his greatest gemological adventure.

It all started in June 2004 with a phone call and a question from the Vatican Secretary of State: Is it possible to determine the approximate age of an object based on gems, their workmanship and how they're set?

Bossi said it was possible, but it would only be a best estimate.

A second call came three weeks later with a request straight from Pope John Paul II: To determine the date of origin of the Icon of the Holy Virgin of Kazan.

Bossi literally answered the pontiff's call on July 28, 2004 when he arrived at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome with his GEM-Lab case and a vague idea of the icon's significance.

He soon learned that the Holy Virgin of Kazan is the most revered symbol of the Christian-Orthodox Church of Russia. It has an extensive history, with the original icon dating back to the city of Constantinople in 13th century Turkey.

According to legend, the next known icon appeared among the ashes of a burned house in the Siberian city of Kazan in 1579. It's believed that its discovery came after a young girl's prophetic dream in which the Virgin Mary instructed her to lead the archbishop to the icon's location. When the archbishop did not believe her story, the girl and her mother dug up the piece themselves.

Immediately after the object's discovery, a church was built in the city and the icon was revered by several Russian czars. It has since been carried in countless battles for protection and became a recognized symbol of Russian independence after the country's victories in the Polish invasion of 1612, the Swedish invasion of 1709 and Napoleon's invasion of 1812.

"Because this icon had become such an important symbol for the Russian people, many reproductions were made for the Czars' private devotion," Bossi said. "It's very probable that the icon I examined is one of these early reproductions."

The replica Bossi was asked to examine belonged to a family of British antique dealers at the beginning of the 1960s. It was then purchased by a bank, sold to the Blue Army, an American charity group, and displayed at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

Pope John Paul II received the icon in the early 1990s as a gift from the Basilica of Fatima in Portugal, where it had been on display as a cult object, and, after keeping it a part of his private chapel for nearly 10 years, decided to return it to the Russian people.

"The pope was initially opposed to the idea of examining the icon," Bossi said.

"However, since several influential Russians had cast doubt on the authenticity of the object, stating that it was just a recent copy, the Vatican wanted to demonstrate its legitimacy."

The icon was sealed in a wooden coffer with a glass covering when it was given to Bossi to examine, so he had to rely heavily on a microscope and different light sources to make his assessment.

"Examining the icon through the glass covering was not as difficult as I thought, but it was still an obstacle because I couldn't touch the surface of the gemstones and I couldn't use certain tools, such as a dichroscope or a spectroscope or filters," he said.

The icon is predominantly made of embossed silver, which has been painted gold and studded with various gemstones. Bossi began by examining the cut and shape of the stones by mounting his microscope on a base and rotating it 180 degrees. He quickly noticed that some of the stones had been specifically calibrated for the icon.

"As I started to examine the icon, I had to remember that in the past, stones were often taken from an older object that had been destroyed and re-used in a more recent object without any modification," Bossi said.

"However, when you find yourself in front of a series of stones custom cut to form a particular decoration, one can be reasonably certain that the age of the cutting and the mounting is the same."

Bossi then used cold and warm lamps to illuminate the upper and lateral sides of the stones to view their internal characteristics. He saw some treatments, such as colored foilbacks in the emeralds, and noted bubbles in some of the blue stones, proving they were made of artificial materials.

Bossi took a short break two hours into his examination to meet the pope. He vividly remembers shaking his hand and telling him he still needed more time to examine the icon.

"Because I'm Catholic, my meeting with Pope John Paul II was a priceless experience," Bossi said.

The icon was entrusted to his care a while longer and he returned to his task with renewed dedication.

"The sacredness and historical importance of this object was a big incentive for me to complete this task, but I also needed a lot of time to get the most accurate results."

He made his final observations, checked his notes for accuracy and tried to cement the image of the icon in his memory.

"I took one last long look before I left to engrave the image deeply in my mind," he said.

The Icon of the Holy Virgin of Kazan as it presumably appeared before any contemporary gemstone additions. Out of all the stones decorating the icon – rubies, red spinel, golden pearls, sapphires and diamonds – Bossi found the emeralds composing the halo to the oldest, dating around the second half of the 18th century. Photo courtesy of the Orthodox Church in America/www.oca.org

The top photo (at right) shows how the icon would have appeared before contemporary gemstone additions. The emeralds forming the halo are the most ancient stones Bossi observed. They contain micaceous inclusions typical of deposits in the Austrian Habachtal area, one of Europe's oldest known emerald sources. Their faceted cabochon cut, mounting style and clear use of foilbacks date them around the second half of the 18th century. This discovery was the biggest influence on Bossi's final hypothesis.

The bottom photo is a representation of how the icon looked when Bossi received it in July 2004. He immediately determined that several gems were added after the icon's manufacture.

He believes many of the modern-cut stones were incorporated while the icon was on display at the Basilica of Fatima in Portugal from 1965-1991, including emeralds, a morganite, two amethysts on each side of the frame and a Victorian pin in the bottom left-hand corner, which dates to the end of the 19th century.

The religious piece as Bossi received it in July of 2004. His analysis pinpointed several modern-cut gemstone additions, mostly near the outside borders, that he believes were incorporated while the icon was on display fro 1965-1991 at the Basilica of Fatima in Portugal. These additions include emeralds, morganite, two amethysts on each side of the frame and a Victorian pin in the bottom left-hand corner. Photo courtesy of Giovanni Bossi.

Bossi studied each gemstone – its cut, setting, inclusions, treatments and placement - and eventually estimated the icon's date of origin to be around the second half of the 18th century.

The Vatican's Secretary of State later informed Bossi that his theory aligned with an analysis done on a pictorial representation of the icon. The picture, which features the icon prior to any gemstone additions, originated around 1730, putting Bossi's estimate of the object's creation right on time.

Bossi's final assessment is only a hypothesis, but his strong background in gemology speaks to the quality of his work, said Kathy Stocco, director of Operations for GIA Italy.

"Giovanni is known throughout Italy as the consummate gemologist. He is known not only for his knowledge and sales of gemstones, but also his high ethical standards," Stocco said.

Bossi's work in the gemstone field officially began in 1979 after he studied geology and mineralogy at the University of Pavia and became a founding vice president of the leading gem instrument supplier in Italy at the time, I.GEM.M. His company was in charge of providing GIA with gem instruments for more than seven years and he remains a partner of the Italian distributor, Gemmarum Lapidator.

Bossi became more involved with GIA in 1983 when he was in charge of the first translation of Richard T. Liddicoat's Handbook of Gem Identification from English to Italian. He earned his Graduate Gemologist diploma through GIA's Distance Education program at this time. Bossi was also able to complete the Italian translation of the Institute's Diamond, Colored Stones and Pearl courses a few years later with the help of his wife, Diana.

Bossi credits his passion for the industry and his GIA education as the most important tools he had to date the Icon of the Holy Virgin of Kazan in the last lines of a narrative he wrote about the experience titled, "A Special Day":

"And from my many reflections, there is one different and special thought: thanks to gems, the interest and passion that I have had for them since I was a boy, today I have been rewarded by a unique experience – an experience that I will never forget."