There are many iconographic types where the Virgin is depicted without Christ Child, including “Orans”, “Softening of Evil Hearts”, “Paraklesis” (“The Supplicant”), and “Joy of Joys”. Among these images is the Mother of God from the Deesis composition.

Deesis (from Greek Δέησις — “prayer”) is an image in which the Mother of God (on the right hand of the Savior), John the Baptist (on the left hand) and selected saints, who pray for the human race, stand before Christ.

The ideological content of the Deesis composition is expressed in the liturgical texts — the Eucharistic Prayer and Lity, where the Church appeals to the intercession of the Ever-Virgin, John the Baptist, saints and disembodied spirits at the coming Last Judgment. Icons (or groups of icons) of the deesis composition, as a rule, were placed in the second tier of the iconostasis.

In the presented icon, the First Orans in front of her Son is depicted in full length; her bowed head, arms bent at the elbows and open palms express a prayerful pose and intercession for sinful souls. Her gaze is directed downwards, at the worshiper.

The Mother of God as the embodiment of the Church appears as a Queen dressed in golden-yellow robes. This accurately reflects the words of the Bible:

Archimandrite Raphael (Karelin) defines gold as the color of eternity, and yellow as the color of warmth and love. In addition, the golden-yellow color in Russian iconography traditionally symbolizes God’s presence, heavenly light and grace, in the images of the Virgin Mary — the royal nature and purity of virginity.

Her regality is emphasized by the rich decoration of clothes: a floral pattern, a wide silver trim with pearls and precious stones on the neckpiece, the edges of the sleeves and the maphorion, and on her epimanikia (the cuffs). The epimanikia are an important element of the vestments of the Mother of God, signifying that she and the Church worship the High Priest Jesus Christ. The crown is also decorated. According to the Russian iconographic tradition, the headpiece crowns the head of the Mother of God, covered with a white veil, a symbol of the shrine. Three stars are always depicted on the veil as evidence of her eternal virginity: on the right shoulder — before the Nativity of Christ, on the forehead — at the miraculous moment of Nativity, on the left shoulder — after Nativity.

The icon comes from the Nativity Church in Balakhna. The Balakhna Local History Museum received it for permanent storage on February 28, 1977. In 2016, restoration works were carried out by the staff of the Ilya Glazunov Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.