Aged-Wooden Byzantine Icon of Panagia Portaitissa.
The miraculous icon of Panagia Portaitissa is said to be the work of Luke the Evangelist. It was for many years in Nicaea, Asia Minor, in the hands of a pious Christian who, during the Iconoclasm, in order to save it, threw it into the sea. The Icon then began to sail towards Greece.
For many years, the Icon was considered lost until 1004 AD, when it appeared on Mount Athos and the monks of the Monastery of Iviron . In a miraculous way, monk Gabriel saw in a vision of his, Panagia saying to him that she came to be the guardian of the Monastery.
Since then, the Icon of Panagia has been placed in the Chapel, next to the Central Gate of the Monastery of Iviron, therefore it took the name "Portaitissa" meaning "Gate-Keeper" .
According to tradition, the Icon of Panagia Portaitissa was stabbed by a pirate in the jaw area and, miraculously, blood came out from the wound.
Akanthist
"Rejoice, O Blessed Gate-Keeper who opens the gates of Paradise to the righteous"
The aging technique is meticulously applied to the Icon by hand and gives it the look of time while the depiction retains its artistic details.
Around the perimeter, the aging becomes more apparent with frayed edges that give the Icon a distinctive appearance.
During the final processing, the Icon is polished with a special varnish to withstand time.
Note: The final Icon may slightly differ from the catalog photo.
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