Plaque: Adoration of the Virgin Kyriotissa
Item
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Work Number
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580257
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Title
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Plaque: Adoration of the Virgin Kyriotissa
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Description
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A frieze of saints stand on the dado level of the plaque and are interrupted by a smaller cluster of figures in between them. At either side of the small group of figures, one of the saints gestures upwards drawing the eye up to the slightly larger saints in the register above. At the left, a bearded saint holding an inscribed document that seems to fly like a standard or flag away from his body, stands just beneath the seated Theotokos and Christ Child. His head connects ever so slightly with the border of the medallion that encompasses the holy Mother and Child. To his left, is another bearded man (St. John the Baptist?). He holds out his hands guiding the eye again towards the Theotokos. To the right is another cluster of figures who similarly hold their hands outwards in praise of Mary. One of them seems to be ringing the bells in the campanile.
The Theotokos is portrayed seated on bench with the Christ Child in her lap. They are encapsulated in a medallion. The Virgin Kyriotissa is a Sinai specific iconographic type in which the Theotokos appears within a medallion seated with the Christ Child. It is a derivation from the Virgin Nikopoios (Victory-maker) type where it is the Christ Child that is the only figure contained in the medallion (Ševčenko, "Virgin Nikopoios", Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium). Above her is a a semi-circle of saints who almost appear to be holding the medallion in place. A series of arches and cupolas surrounds these saints and a further semi-circular register of trees encompasses the entire upper half of the scene. Christ (?) holding the Cross has been included in this forest. An inscription frames the scene from the medallion upwards.
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Medium
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Metal with gilding
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Provenance
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Gallery, case 5
16asinai00237