This icon of “Our Lady of Kazan” was painted approximately in the late 19th or early 20th century. It was decorated with a stamped revetment made of a thin sheet of gold-colored metal. The icon was painted in oil on a pine board. Brass almost completely covers it, with the exception of the faces and the hand of Jesus — there are open spaces for them in the revetment.

The revetment is a relief frame. It is decorated with geometric and floral patterns. Vestments are made with special care, as well as protruding ray-shaped crowns (halos). The latter are overlay elements.

The iconographer depicted the face of the Virgin Mary frontally, with a slight tilt of the head. Jesus Christ is presented strictly full-face, His right hand is raised with a blessing double-fingered gesture. The eyes are directed right at the worshiper. The brass darkened over time, became covered with patina, and craquelures — small cracks of the paint layer — appeared on the enamel.

Iconographically, the Kazan icon is usually attributed to an abbreviated version of the Hodegetria. Such works go back to the prototype stored in the Blachernae Church in Constantinople. In icons of the “Hodegetria” type, the Mother of God points to Christ with Her hand. The Kazan image is shoulder length, so we do not see the hand pointing.

“Our Lady of Kazan” has become one of the most revered and reproduced icons in Russia. It was first mentioned in 1579 — after a severe fire in Kazan. Legend has it that a nine-year-old girl, Matrona, the daughter of one of the injured local merchants, saw the Blessed Virgin Mary during a dream and ordered her to find her image, which allegedly was among the ashes. In the place indicated by her, an icon was indeed found, untouched by fire. The icon turned out to be miraculous and healing. A copy was taken from it and sent to the court of Ivan the Terrible.

There are many legends that this icon could protect against enemy attacks. All these legends were connected with the copies of the icon. The original was lost at the beginning of the 19th century. It is believed that the icon was stolen from the Bogoroditsky monastery along with the image of the Savior, hacked to pieces and burned, while the jewels of the revetment were torn out in the hope of a quick sale. But there are also versions that it was taken abroad after the revolution or hidden in Russia.