Description in Icons, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2004, cat. no. 60:
The Hodegetria Mother of God “Gruzinskaya”
Second quarter of 16th century, Novgorod
NMI 264

Wood: Linden (Tilia sp.), egg tempera
on canvas. Panel made of three boards
with two splines inlaid from opposite
sides; back painted brown.

PROVENANCE: Antiquariat no 4582 (”Novgoroder
Schule, Anfang 16. Jahrh.”); Olof
Aschberg 1935; Gift of O. Aschberg 1952
EXHIBITIONS: Gothenburg 1970, no 13;
Helsinki 1970, no 13; Stockholm 1988, no 6
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Dahlbäck 1954, pp 196, 197;
Kjellin 1956, pp 96–97, 238; Felicetti 1972,
p 109; Abel 1978:1, fig. 4
CONSERVATION: Restored prior to entering
NM: joints in bottom right-hand corner
mended with a large iron nail; insertion of
ground on lower border with artificial
craquelure; minor insertions along rest of
borders; minor retouches on faces with
artificial craquelure; retouches on background;
gold on halos, background and
borders removed. NM 1966: repairs to
cracks along joints, retouching and varnish -
ing; 1971: extensive damage to border in
bottom right-hand corner mended; 1988:
consolidation of blisters and flaking paint,
damage repair and cleaning. Cracks in
panel joints and paint layer, with minor
paint losses from bottom left-hand border;
scattered remains of gold on halo, background
and borders; halos decorated with
a system of engraved and painted ornaments;
boards warped

The collection includes two large
images of the Gruzinskaya type Mother
of God, both from Novgorod and
roughly contemporary.1Of these the
present one is most intact. Characteristics
of the region and period, also in
evidence here, include the pink and
white colouring on the inside of the
maphorion worn by the Mother of
God, her blue clothing, the pattern of
Christ’s clothing and also the pointed
halos. It should be compared with
icons of the same subject in the Russian
Museum in St Petersburg (inv. nos
3973 and 3114).2
The icon may have been included
in an iconostasis, where its place was
probably on the left of the Royal
Doors.

1 Cf. Cat. no 62.
2 Likhachov 1980, figs 186, 187.
[slut]