Russian Orthodox Icon, Our Lady Of Smolensk Hodigitria, Or Mother Of God Of Smolensk, Virgin And Child, Vermeil Oklad

Rare 18th-century Orthodox iscon, possibly earlier, tempera on wood.
A Russian text appears on the reverse, translated below:
"This painting was given on the occasion of the birth of a child in the Dokhtouroff family and was previously the property of its ancestors - Korgo 1836 ".
This is a Hodigitria "I guide" representation of the Mother of God known as Our Lady of Smolenk, Virgin and Child or Son of God.
The figure of the Mother of God is depicted head-on, with a slight inclination of the head to above the waist.
The Christ child is seated on her hand, as if on a throne, with the Mother pointing to him with her other hand. Jesus blesses his mother with one hand, or the gesture of blessing can be directed directly at us; in the other hand, he holds the rolled-up parchment.
The key to this type of icon lies in the Virgin's gesture, pointing to Christ: the Mother of God guides us spiritually and directs us to him. She takes our prayers to him, interceding for us before him.
The image of the crown on the Virgin's head comes from Western Europe and is very rare in the Orthodox iconographic tradition.
In the Russian tradition, the names of icons are often epithets of the Mother of God or place names, indicating the place where the venerated image is located or where it comes from, as in the case of this iscone, the first representation of which is said to have arrived in Russia in the 11th ; Vladimir the Monarch solemnly donated it to the city of Smolensk in the 12th century.
This isola is superimposed with a silver and vermeil oklad or riza (with no lack of gold), richly worked and chased; the Son of God is crowned, as is the Virgin (which is rarer); the Child's nimbus is adorned with pearls, as is the Virgin's and the veil covering her forehead. The draped lines of the vestments are enhanced with Baroque pearls. On either side of the Virgin's nimbus are two large stones, I believe (green in color, with inclusions).
You'll notice that the Virgin's crown is flanked by two archangels, but note that she's missing quite a bit at the top, and her crown must also be missing two large pearls.
The riza's smooth surface is finely chased with beautiful foliate scrolls.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
_______________________________________________________________________________
I ship all over the world, please ask me for the shipping cost.
_______________________________________________________________________________