This late 19C tempera hand painting on wood was specially painted for this very old northern enamel oklad. Such oklads were produced in 17th century in areas from Vologda up to north of Russia in Archangelsk district.
Size app.: 11,5 x 9,4 cm (4,5 x 3,7 in). Very Good. Wear, damages and tiny losses to enamel. Please study good resolution images for overall cosmetic condition. In person actual item may appear darker or brighter than in our pictures, strictly depending on sufficient light in your environment. Weight of app. 125 gram is going to measure some 1 kg volume weight packed for shipment.
The Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God (Russian: Феодоровская икона Божией Матери), also known as Our Lady of Saint Theodore and the Black Virgin Mary of Russia, is the patron icon of the Romanov family. It is one of the most venerated icons in the Upper Volga region. Her feast days are March 14 (27) and August 29.
Since the Feodorovskaya follows the same Byzantine Eleusa (Tender Mercy) type as the Theotokos of Vladimir, pious legends declared it a copy of that famous image, purportedly created by Saint Luke. In Greek, Theotokos means "God-bearer". It is believed that, before the Mongol invasion of Rus, the icon was kept in a monastery near the town of Gorodets-on-the-Volga. After the Mongols sacked and burnt the town, the icon disappeared and was given up for lost. Several months later, on 16 August 1239, Prince Vasily of Kostroma wandered while hunting in a forest. While trying to find his way out of a thicket, he saw an icon concealed among fir branches. When he reached out to touch it, the icon mysteriously rose up in the air. The awestruck prince informed the citizens of Kostroma about the miracle he had witnessed and returned with a crowd of people to the forest. They fell prostrate before the icon and prayed to the Theotokos. They carried the icon to the city and placed it in the Assumption Cathedral. A conflagration destroyed the cathedral and most of its icons soon thereafter, but the Feodorovskaya was found intact on the third day after the fire.