Iverskaya Mother of God, The

Painting

Purdue University Galleries

Name/Title

Iverskaya Mother of God, The

Entry/Object ID

2005.02.017

Description

Flat wood panel backed in teal/green velvet covered in silver riza with enameling. Two large blue (Greek?) symbols are in either upper corner and one Cyrillic caption is on the left of the central image in blue. The focal image features Mary with painted face and hands; one holding an infant and one over her breast. The riza clothes her in a head covering and robes engraved in floral motifs and her enamel halo has white, blue, teal, red, and green colors in it. The infant she holds sits upright and faces the observer with painted face and holds one hand up in two finger blessing gesture. His robes feature a minor rounded detailing on cuff and bottom edges.

Type of Painting

Panel

Collection

Betsy Scheuring Icon Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2005.02

Source or Donor

Betsy Scheuring

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

Gift of Betsy Scheuring

Made/Created

Time Period

19th Century

Place

* Untyped Place

St. Petersburg, Russia

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Makers Mark

Location

Bottom right corner of riza, just within border

Transcription

woman's head with diadem, 84, A.E

Language

Cyrillic

Translation

Kokoshnik mark, A.E.

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Icon

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Symbol, Religious

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Religious Objects

Nomenclature Class

Ceremonial Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Dimensions

Height

10-1/2 in

Width

8-3/4 in

Depth

1-1/4 in

Exhibition

Spirit Made Tangible: The Scheuring Icon Collection (2006)

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

This is another variation of the “Hodegetria” type, with the half-length Virgin turned to the right as she holds the child and points toward him. The finely rendered Virgin has a very thoughtful expression, matched by the seriousness of young Christ. Both the painted and metal parts of the icon are smoothly modeled. Special attention is given to the haloes, with their intricate enamel pattern of red, blue, and white, individualized for mother and son.