The Virgin of Smolenks

Origin: Russia
Age: 2nd half of the XIXth Century
Composition: Kiot – grafija in levkas, silver remnants, tempera on wood
Measures Cms: 38,0 X 33,5 X 7,5

The prototype for the present icon would have been one of the eleventh century copies made in Constantinople of the famous Hodegetria icon. It came to the Slavs in the retinue of the Byzantine imperial Princess Anna who married Prince Vsevelod of Chernigov in 1046. In 1101 it was installed in the Cathedral of Smolensk by Prince Vladimir Monomakh. The icon was brought to Moscow in 1308 and returned to Smolensk again in 1456. Many miracles are attributed to the work of the icon.