Condition: Cleaned and conserved by Martin Bould. Minimal restoration

Inscription in Church Slavonic: Обрa Благовещенie Пресв(ят)а(я) Б(огороди)ца, Image of the Annunciation to Our Most Holy Theotokos

Provenance: German art market

Feast Day: 25th March

On the left side of the panel, the Archangel Gabriel stands holding a sceptre in his left hand. The positioning of his feet and wings indicate a sense of angelic motion - as if the supernatural being is still in flight. Gabriel blesses the Virgin with his right hand, who is shown standing before a stool. Mary's left arm is raised in a gesture of acceptance, echoing the verse from the Gospel of Luke that has become known as Mary's fiat (Latin: 'let it be done'): '"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”' (Luke 1:38) Which is a response to Gabriel's declaration:

And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God... (1:35)

In the top-centre of the panel in a supernal opening filled with celestial clouds is Lord Sabaoth (see below) - with a halo that contains an eight-pointed star - who is sending the Holy Spirit (in the form of a dove) to miraculously impregnate the Virgin with Jesus, the Word of God. As briefly mentioned above, the iconography is based on the event from Luke 1:26-38, which relates the narrative of the birth of Christ. The scene takes place in Nazareth, Galilee.

Lord Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts - the Greek translation of the title of Yahweh in the Hebrew Bible) is the Russian way of depicting God the Father. He typically has a wise, patriarchal look with a white beard - like an older version of Jesus. He has an eight-pointed star in his halo as it signifies the eternal dimension, the dwelling of the Lord. Depictions of Lord Sabaoth became prominent features of Russian icons during the 17th century, although they were apparent in earlier icons.

This icon comes from Palekh, a village that was famous for icon painting from the 18th century. It is one of several famous icon painting villages alongside Mstera and Fedoskino. These villages were settled by the Old Believers, a sect of Orthodox Christians who opposed reforms to the church by the Moscow Patriarch. The fame of school comes from the refinment and delicacy of the painting. Here, the painter has consciously emulated the magnificent architectural structures and delicate figures that define the Stroganoff school of the 17th century.