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Russian Icon
ca. 1900
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Iverskaya Madonna
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In it's original kyot Oil on wood with
gold rizza 5 1/8 by 5 1/4 inches
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$900
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This Mt. Athos icon takes it name
from the Iveron (Iberian) monastery there. It is another of those
attributed to St. Luke. A pious Constaninople widow hid it in
her home during the iconoclast period, and finally, to save it
from desecration, she threw it into the sea, where it stood upright
and floated away. Some seventy years later it appeared out to
sea in a pillar of fire off Mt. Athos, but the monks were unable
to retrieve it until a voice came from the icon saying that only
the hermit Gabriel of Ribera could bring the icon to land. It
was rescued and placed in the Iveron Monastery of Athos, from
which it derives it title.
It became particularly famous in Russia
after Tsar Alexi Mifhailovich had a copy made and sent to Russia
in 1648, where a chapel was built for it. Legend says that in
order to insure the effectiveness of the icon, 365 fathers of
the Iviron Monastery held an all night service. Both the original
icon (called the Portaitissa in Greek) and the panel on which
the replica was to be painted were washed with holy water blessed
with the relics of saints. Then the wash-water was given to the
painter to mix with his paints.
The Iverskaya , an Odigitriya variant,
is distinguished by the bleeding wound on it's cheek. It is said
to be a cut inflicted by a Saracen named Barbados (likely a mythical
name meanin "barbarian"). Another variation of the tale
attributes the wound to a slash by a soldier who found the icon
in Constantinople before it was set adrift. Holy days March 31
and Holy Tuesday (the Tuesday before Easter).