Our Lady of the Great Panagiya (Оranta)
First third of the 13th century
The iconographic type of «Our Lady of Great Panagiya» (Greek - holiness) with arms in the gesture of prayer and the Infant Christ in a medallion on her chest dates from the ancient Orthodox image of Our Lady of Vlachernitissa from the Vlachern temple in Constantinople. The name «Our Lady Oranta» by which this icon became famous is imprecise, since the iconography of the Oranta depicts Our Lady standing with raised hands but without the infant. The image of «Our Lady of the Great Panagiya» reveals most fully the meaning of the dogma of the incarnation. In the upper corners, in medallions, we see the half-drawn depictions of Archangels Michael and Gabriel. The gesture of Christ Emmanuel, blessing with both hands, - the gesture of church blessing – is a rare iconographic peculiarity of the work.
The Icon is exact handmade copy therefore the dimensions are specific, the hooks for hanging on the wall are nails for horseshoes, while the nails on the periphery of the icon that hold the frame are different as were in the original one. The subjects are hand painted on canvas by experienced Hagiographers in the traditional way of Byzantine Art. The wood comes from the area of Mount Athos in Halkidiki and it is beech which is amenable to aging treatment.
The images are plated with 950 silver with a special treatment for an unchanged look over time. The openings of the faces of the hands or other members of the depicted saints are made one by one by hand with a jigsaw. Halos likewise.
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