Lot Essay
Compare with an earlier icon of the Hodigitria dated to 1400, see M. Bouboudakis, \KEikones Ths Krhtikhs Tecnhs\k, (Iraklion) 1993, no.149.
Compare also with an Icon of the Hodigitria with the Dormition of the Virgin from the Church of St. John Chrysostomos, Kimolos, see Athens, Old University, Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Art,, (July 26th 1985 - January 6th 1986), Cat. No.119, p.120.
Byzantine Tradition traces the origin of the Hodigitria (the Guide or the One who leads the Way) to the image of the Virgin produced by the Evangelist Saint Luke. The Virgin is said to have blessed the image with the words "My blessing will remain always with this icon", and that subsequently Luke is said to have sent the image together with the text of his Gospel, to Antioch. In the middle of the 5th century the icon was transferred to Constantinople where it miraculously escaped the Iconoclasts and the Latin occupation (1204-1261). When the Emperor Michael VIII recovered the city in 1261, the icon was triumphantly processed before him through the Golden Gates. The image was prominent in all major events in Byzantium becoming the palladium of the city of Constantinople.
During the fateful Turkish siege of Constantinople in 1453, the icon crashed to the ground whilst it was being carried around the walls of the city, an event that was interpreted as a portend of disaster. After the Fall of Constantinople the icon vanished.
Compare also with an Icon of the Hodigitria with the Dormition of the Virgin from the Church of St. John Chrysostomos, Kimolos, see Athens, Old University, Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Art,, (July 26th 1985 - January 6th 1986), Cat. No.119, p.120.
Byzantine Tradition traces the origin of the Hodigitria (the Guide or the One who leads the Way) to the image of the Virgin produced by the Evangelist Saint Luke. The Virgin is said to have blessed the image with the words "My blessing will remain always with this icon", and that subsequently Luke is said to have sent the image together with the text of his Gospel, to Antioch. In the middle of the 5th century the icon was transferred to Constantinople where it miraculously escaped the Iconoclasts and the Latin occupation (1204-1261). When the Emperor Michael VIII recovered the city in 1261, the icon was triumphantly processed before him through the Golden Gates. The image was prominent in all major events in Byzantium becoming the palladium of the city of Constantinople.
During the fateful Turkish siege of Constantinople in 1453, the icon crashed to the ground whilst it was being carried around the walls of the city, an event that was interpreted as a portend of disaster. After the Fall of Constantinople the icon vanished.