A BEAUTIFUL RUSSIAN ICON OF THE SMOLENSK HODIGITRIA MOTHER OF GOD, 17TH CENTURY. Here the Mother of

A BEAUTIFUL RUSSIAN ICON OF THE SMOLENSK HODIGITRIA MOTHER OF GOD, 17TH CENTURY. Here the Mother of God holds the infant Christ who delivers a blessing with his right hand and holds a scroll (signifying His wisdom) in His left hand. The borders and background overlaid with gilded  basma and the heads of Christ and the Virgin encircled with gilded, enameled and gem set haloes from which hangs a similarly decorated tsata.  The term Hodigitria (Odigitria) is a generic term that describes those icons in which the Mother of God gestures towards her son with her right hand. The term is based on the Greek and can roughly be translated as “Way-Shower.” In this case the one who shows the way to salvation-Jesus Christ. The Smolensk Hodigitria is said by tradition to have been painted by St. Luke and to have come from Byzantium to Chernigov when the Greek Princess Anna wed Vsevolod of Chernigov in the year 1046. About 50 years later it is said to have been gifted to the Cathedral in the city of Smolensk, from whence it takes its name. Eventually it was taken to Moscow (1308) but then returned to Smolensk (1456). Both the original and a copy were appealed to for success when the French troops under Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812 at the battle of Borodino. 12.25 inches x 9.5 inches (31.3 x 24.1 cm).

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