Icon - Mother of God Hodegetria - Wood

Orthodox travel icon (19th century) - Madonna and Child with Four Saints (Madonna Hodegetria).

30.5 x 19 cm closed, 30.5 x 37 cm open.

Tempera on a book-like panel, it represents an object of private devotion intended for priests, pilgrims, or high-ranking faithful, used for personal prayer during travels or privately.

- Iconography: At the center stands the monumental figure of the Theotokos (Mother of God), depicted according to the iconographic type of the Hodegetria ('She who shows the Way'). The Virgin, her head covered by a burgundy-red maphorion (cloak) bordered in gold, holds the Baby Jesus in her arms, offering a blessing.
- Closed exterior: It displays a symbolic decoration with the Christological inscription "IC XC" (Jesus Christ) and "NI KA" (Victor/Winner), that is, the Greek monogram "Jesus Christ Victor", accompanied by a stylised processional cross emerging from a trilobate or mountainous base, symbol of Golgotha.