Icon: Mandylion

tempera, wood panel, chalk-and-plaster ground, gilding; 35.5 x 31 x 2.4 cm.
Russia, mid-19th century.
An image of the Savior—not made by human hands (Russian: nierukotvorny), depicted within a cross-shaped nimbus (an iconographic attribute reserved solely for the Savior, symbolizing his death on the cross). Inscribed on the halo are Greek letters meaning “I Am Who I Am”—the name of God, which also pertains to the divine nature of Christ.
The image of Christ’s Face is set against a draped white cloth, held up by the Archangels Gabriel and Michael. Explanatory inscriptions in Cyrillic at the top read “Nierukotvornyj Obraz Gospoda” . At the bottom left, in Cyrillic: “Bożije vidzje” (God’s Vision); on the right: “Bżstvennoje Chudo” (God’s Miracle).
The border is a uniform dotted pattern, framed by a blue and red band.