Object types
painting (scope note | all objects)
icon (scope note | all objects)
Title (object)
The Mother of God of the Sign (‘Znamenie’)
Materials
wood (all objects)
gesso (all objects)
Techniques
painted (scope note | all objects)
gessoed (scope note | all objects)
Production place
Made in Russia (scope note | all objects)
Made in Mstera (?) (all objects)
Date
18thC
19thC (restoration)
Description
Icon; painted; the half-length figure of the Mother of God is portrayed frontally with her hands raised in prayer. On her chest is a medallion containing a bust of Christ Emmanuel holding a scroll and blessing. He is depicted against a background of red and blue circles and stars, symbolizing the universe. The outer red colour is a reference to the resurrection.
Inscription: in Greek flanking Christ to left: IC; to right: XC (Jesus Christ); in Christ's halo: OW[H] (I am Being).
Egg tempera, gesso on wood.
Inscriptions
Inscription Type: inscription
Inscription Script: Greek
Inscription Position: Christ's halo
Inscription Language: Greek
Inscription Comment: identifying figure
Inscription Type: inscription
Inscription Script: Greek
Inscription Position: lower middle
Inscription Language: Greek
Inscription Comment: identifying figure
Dimensions
Height: 30.9 centimetres
Width: 26.9 centimetres
Thickness: 2.7 centimetres
Condition
Made from a single panel with ‘kovcheg’; two inserted battens on the reverse; the background of the icon has been totally restored and retouched to imitate an older icon. The flesh tones were over-painted in the 19th century. Beneath the 19th-century restoration are the remains of an earlier paint layer.
Curator's comments
The iconography derives from a type of the Virgin called the ‘Great Panagia’ or the ‘Platytera’ where the Virgin is depicted with widespread arms and Christ in a medallion on her chest. Its iconography expresses the theological concept of the Incarnation of Christ. From the 11th–12th centuries this venerable type becomes known in Russian art as ‘Znamenie’ (The Sign). A bilateral icon of the Mother of God of the Sign became famous as the protector of Novgorod when it saved the city during a siege by Suzdal forces in 1170 (Salko 1982, figs 163–168). From that time onwards it was regarded as a miracle-working icon and became one of the most venerated and widely copied images of the Virgin.
See also cat. no. 54 for another icon with this iconography.
Published:
Cormack 2007, 129, no. 68
Subject
virgin and child (scope note | all objects)
Associated names
Named in inscription & portrayed Jesus Christ (biographical details | all objects)
Representation of Virgin Mary (biographical details | all objects)
Acquisition date
1998
Acquisition name
Bequeathed by Sir Frank Kenyon Roberts (biographical details | all objects)
Collected by Cella Roberts (biographical details | all objects)
Acquisition notes
See 1998,0605.1
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