Leyla Izabakarova is a contemporary artist and the younger daughter of Manaba Magomedova, the first female goldsmith in the Caucasus. Leyla’s work, “The Zarzma Icon of the Mother of God”, is made of silver and consecrated in the medieval monastery of Zarzma in Georgia. One of the local legends is connected with the church of this monastery.
In the 8th century, the villagers were dissatisfied with the construction of a monastery on their land and tried to drive the monks away. Venerable Serapion prayed for a miracle, and it happened: there was an earthquake, the rocks parted, and the water from the nearby lake flooded the village. Since then, the village and the temple have been called Zarzma from the word “zari”, which means “tragedy” in Georgia.
The Zarzma Icon of the Mother of God belongs to the oldest examples of the iconographic type. In the center is the image of the Mother of God with the Child Jesus in her arms, the background is filled with colored enamel. The overall silhouette of the figures, clear sculptural forms and ornamentation make the image serene, majestic and monumental.
The face of Theotokos was portrayed by the artist as restrained and austere, full of love for her son and for all believers. Mary, as the Queen of Heaven, is clothed in the two main monarchal colors, red and blue. In Western Christian art, the lower vestment of Mary was often red and the upper vestment — blue, as a sign that the human essence of the Virgin Mary was covered by a heavenly, divine blue. The gold border along the edge of the cloak signifies the glorification of the Queen of Heaven, her being in the divine light and belonging to the Lord’s glory. The Baby Jesus is wearing a garment of green, which symbolizes life and hope.
Above the heads of Madonna and Child is a halo, a symbol of spiritual glory and divine grace. The round shape of the nimbus symbolizes eternity, since in the Kingdom of God time does not exist. The nimbus is delineated by two lines: the dark line symbolizes the impregnability of the Divine, its distance from the earthly world, and the light line is the light of Tabor, the sign of transfiguration, which marks the presence of God.
The setting of the icon is decorated with a floral ornament featuring enamel inlays and semiprecious stones to match the vestment of the Mother of God and the Child.
In the 8th century, the villagers were dissatisfied with the construction of a monastery on their land and tried to drive the monks away. Venerable Serapion prayed for a miracle, and it happened: there was an earthquake, the rocks parted, and the water from the nearby lake flooded the village. Since then, the village and the temple have been called Zarzma from the word “zari”, which means “tragedy” in Georgia.
The Zarzma Icon of the Mother of God belongs to the oldest examples of the iconographic type. In the center is the image of the Mother of God with the Child Jesus in her arms, the background is filled with colored enamel. The overall silhouette of the figures, clear sculptural forms and ornamentation make the image serene, majestic and monumental.
The face of Theotokos was portrayed by the artist as restrained and austere, full of love for her son and for all believers. Mary, as the Queen of Heaven, is clothed in the two main monarchal colors, red and blue. In Western Christian art, the lower vestment of Mary was often red and the upper vestment — blue, as a sign that the human essence of the Virgin Mary was covered by a heavenly, divine blue. The gold border along the edge of the cloak signifies the glorification of the Queen of Heaven, her being in the divine light and belonging to the Lord’s glory. The Baby Jesus is wearing a garment of green, which symbolizes life and hope.
Above the heads of Madonna and Child is a halo, a symbol of spiritual glory and divine grace. The round shape of the nimbus symbolizes eternity, since in the Kingdom of God time does not exist. The nimbus is delineated by two lines: the dark line symbolizes the impregnability of the Divine, its distance from the earthly world, and the light line is the light of Tabor, the sign of transfiguration, which marks the presence of God.
The setting of the icon is decorated with a floral ornament featuring enamel inlays and semiprecious stones to match the vestment of the Mother of God and the Child.
