Russian Orthodox Icon, depicting Our Lady of the Sign, Eighteenth to Nineteenth Century AD
Tempera on Wood
30.5 x 26 x 2.1 cm
12 x 10 1/4 x 7/8 in
12 x 10 1/4 x 7/8 in
CC.362
In AD 1170, the Russian city of Novgorod, in northern Russia, near the present borders with Estonia and Latvia, was besieged by the armies of the Dukes of Vladimir, Murom,...
In AD 1170, the Russian city of Novgorod, in northern Russia, near the present borders with Estonia and Latvia, was besieged by the armies of the Dukes of Vladimir, Murom, Smolensk, and Polotsk. The Novgorodian Saga, a mediaeval document of the Fourteenth Century AD, records what happens next. The siege was going badly for the defenders. Novgorod’s citizens were cowering behind the walls, and the troops were losing hope. On the second night of the siege, the Archbishop of the city, later beatified as Saint Ilya of Novgorod, went to the cathedral, and prayed for the salvation of his people. Before long, he was struck with a vision: a booming voice echoed across the cathedral, saying ‘go ye unto the Church of the Transfiguration on Ilyna Street, and take the icon of Our Lady, and bring it forth to the walls of the City, and show it to the enemy.” The Archbishop did as commanded, hanging it from the ramparts. In the sixth hour of the battle, the icon turned itself to face the city. As a hail of arrows fell down around him, the Archbishop noticed that the eyes of the icon were wet with tears, and brought the icon down to safety, hiding it under his cloak. He told the assembled Novgorodians that the tears were proof that the Virgin was praying for her son, and for God himself, to intervene on behalf of the city This prayer appeared to have been answered, when suddenly the eclipse of AD 1170 fell. In the sudden darkness, the attackers fought amongst themselves. Advancing with torches, the Novgorodians entered the melee, and routed the attackers. The icon was considered the palladium of the city, a protective image which was thought to defend the city from attack. The Novgorodians built a church specifically to house it, and it remains in the city to this day in order to protect it.
This story made that particular icon, an image of Our Lady of the Sign, famous across Russia. Copies were created across Russia, many of which were also believed to be miraculous in their own right. Our Lady of the Sign is a particular genre of icons which probably dates back to the Byzantine Period. They all follow the same theme. In the centre is the Virgin Mary, in her guise as theotokos, ‘the Mother of God’. She is veiled, often depicted as youthful, and stands in the orans position. With hands raised, palms open, and elbows almost level with the shoulders, this pose is probably borrowed from Second Temple Judaism, and, before then, from the Bronze Age Levant. It entered Christianity as a result of 1 Timothy 2:8, ‘I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without fear or argument.’ The Virgin is depicted here at a very specific moment: the instant of conception of the Christ Child. She is in her prayer posture, and with eyes wide with Christian awe, at exactly the moment when she replies to the Archangel Gabriel’s announcement of the conception, when she supposedly said ‘may it be done to me according to your word’ (Luke 1:38). The reference to a ‘Sign’ in the title of these icons derives from the prophecy announced in Isaiah 7:14, ‘therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and she shall call his name Emmanuel’.
This beautifully painted icon refers directly to this icon type. The Virgin is presented at half-length, with hands raised in the orans pose, with her eyes wide with Christian awe. She is finely drafted, with careful attention paid to the facial features. Her hair is covered with a shawl, as was common for Orthodox women of the period, and she wears a dark blue gown. Blue associated her both with purity and the skies, but also to label her as an empress, since the colour blue was closely connected to the Byzantine monarchy, since it was derived from lapis lazuli which was more expensive than gold during the Byzantine Period. Above Mary’s stomach is a roundel, within which sits a small depiction of Christ, His face is depicted as that of an older man, in reference to the teaching that he was at once a human infant, and also an ageless deity. The circle in which Jesus is depicted acts as a window into the Virgin’s womb, which was considered to be as spacious as the heavens. One of his hands raises two fingers, as though he was making the sign of the cross. Around his head is an aureole, or halo, within which are the Russian letters о щ н, which abbreviate the Greek phrase for ‘he who is’.
This story made that particular icon, an image of Our Lady of the Sign, famous across Russia. Copies were created across Russia, many of which were also believed to be miraculous in their own right. Our Lady of the Sign is a particular genre of icons which probably dates back to the Byzantine Period. They all follow the same theme. In the centre is the Virgin Mary, in her guise as theotokos, ‘the Mother of God’. She is veiled, often depicted as youthful, and stands in the orans position. With hands raised, palms open, and elbows almost level with the shoulders, this pose is probably borrowed from Second Temple Judaism, and, before then, from the Bronze Age Levant. It entered Christianity as a result of 1 Timothy 2:8, ‘I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without fear or argument.’ The Virgin is depicted here at a very specific moment: the instant of conception of the Christ Child. She is in her prayer posture, and with eyes wide with Christian awe, at exactly the moment when she replies to the Archangel Gabriel’s announcement of the conception, when she supposedly said ‘may it be done to me according to your word’ (Luke 1:38). The reference to a ‘Sign’ in the title of these icons derives from the prophecy announced in Isaiah 7:14, ‘therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and she shall call his name Emmanuel’.
This beautifully painted icon refers directly to this icon type. The Virgin is presented at half-length, with hands raised in the orans pose, with her eyes wide with Christian awe. She is finely drafted, with careful attention paid to the facial features. Her hair is covered with a shawl, as was common for Orthodox women of the period, and she wears a dark blue gown. Blue associated her both with purity and the skies, but also to label her as an empress, since the colour blue was closely connected to the Byzantine monarchy, since it was derived from lapis lazuli which was more expensive than gold during the Byzantine Period. Above Mary’s stomach is a roundel, within which sits a small depiction of Christ, His face is depicted as that of an older man, in reference to the teaching that he was at once a human infant, and also an ageless deity. The circle in which Jesus is depicted acts as a window into the Virgin’s womb, which was considered to be as spacious as the heavens. One of his hands raises two fingers, as though he was making the sign of the cross. Around his head is an aureole, or halo, within which are the Russian letters о щ н, which abbreviate the Greek phrase for ‘he who is’.