This icon belongs to one of the earliest depictions of Mary, the explanation is in Isaiah 7, verse 7-14. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Next to Mary’s halo are two cherubim. The primordial icon originated in Constantinopel, after the Christianization, this became the most important one in Novgorod.
Size: 28 x 35 cm ●
Saint Nicholas the miracle-worker from the Palech school. Saint Nicholas is depicted in all his finery. With his right hand he makes a gesture of blessing, and in his left hand he holds the Book of the Gospels. He is the patron saint of seamen, but also of the family and children.
Grootte 26 x 30 cm ●
This icon is also known as the Feast of Abraham.
The original icon was donated by Abbot Simion of the Holy Trinity Monastery near Veliko Turnovo.
This archetypal icon was painted in 1708 by the painters Kosta and Tsonyo.
Size: 28 x 37 cm. ●
On this triptych the Wisdom of God (in Greek: ‘Hagia Sophia’) is personified in the image of a woman sitting on a throne. She has angel’s wings and holds a sceptre and staff in her hands.
To the left is the Mother of God with a diskos bearing the image of Christ Immanuel. To the right stands John the Precursor holding an open scroll in his hand.
Above the Hagia Sophia is Christ Pantokrator, and above him six angels and an empty throne on which rests an evangeliary.
Size: 58 x 37 cm.
The Gruzinskaya is virtually a mirror image of the Mother of God Jerusalimskaya.
It is probably a Byzantine replica of the latter, which was most recently found in Georgia where it was known as the Georgian or Iberian Mother of God. The oldest Gruzinskaya dates from around 1360 and was moved shortly afterwards to Moscow, where the replicas have become just as well loved as in Georgia.
Size: 28 x 35 cm. ●
In 830 AD Saint Theodora (born in 815) married the Byzantine Emperor Theophilus, who died twelve years later. In 842 she devoted herself to re-establishing the veneration of the icons at a Holy Synod in Nicaea. She died in a convent on 11 February 867 at the age of 52 years, The Orthodox Church declared her a saint.
Size 28 x 35 cm
The Mother of God holds on her lap the Christ Child, who turns with a startled look to an angel holding a lance and a sponge. In the opposite corner is an angel bearing a cross. The baroque throne on which the Mother of God is seated is unique. The crown has been replaced by a headdress, as is often found in Southwest Russia where there was a clear Western influence.
Size: 28 x 35 cm
The original was a mosaic icon, which I photographed in a monastery church along the road to Sophia.
Here it is a beautifully embellished tempera icon with the theme ‘Mother of God gesturing to the Christ Child’
Size: ca. 28 x 35 cm ●
According to tradition, the first icon of this type was painted by Saint Luke. A typical feature of this icon is the way the Christ Child sits on the left arm of his mother, turning his gaze away from her. The child presents an opened scroll showing an excerpt from Luke 4 verse 18 or from Isaiah 61 verse 1. The icon takes its name from the Kykkos monastery on Cyprus. The festival for this icon is celebrated on 26 December.
Size: 28 x 35 cm.
Saint George, on a rearing horse, brandishes his lance to slay the dragon lying on the ground.
Size: 28 x 35 cm.●