Antique Russian icon "Joy of all who suffer" 35x30 with metal riza

Antique Russian icon "Joy of all who suffer" 35x30 with metal riza.Original 19th century Russian icon from the church of St. Nicholas in Tolmaci of Moscow, depicting the Mother of God "Joy of all who suffer''. The Russian icon was glorified in 1688 after the intercession and miraculous healing of the sister of the patriarch Ioachim. It was written in the Preobragenskaya church after reconstruction in 1685. The fate of the icon is unclear. According to one of the versions, the image was brought to St. Petersburg in 1711, and only a copy remained in Moscow. The icon of Moscow and St. Petersburg are very different in their iconography. In the eighteenth century the iconography of the Mother of God "Joy of all who suffer '' knows many variations influenced by several Catholic iconographic elements. The common feature of all the variants is the image of the afflicted who address their prayers to the Mother of God, their protector and patroness. In the center of the composition there is always the crowned Holy Virgin, she is often placed on the moon and in her left hand she holds the crowned Child. The image is surrounded by light, all signs taken from the book of Revelation: '' a woman clothed in the sun with the moon under her feet ''. Sometimes the people who invoke the Mother of God are divided into six groups: the staretz, the naked, the sick, the afflicted, the hungry and the pilgrims: all are comforted by the angels sent by the Mother of God.This Russian icon is a unique piece, it is hand-painted with egg tempera on a wooden board treated with levkas and is embellished with a raised metal riza that covers the entire icon, revealing, thanks to special openings, only the faces of the characters in the painting.It measures 36x31 cm and is equipped with a hook on the back to be able to hang it. It is delivered in an elegant blue satin case, accompanied by specialist opinion of the icon.