Icon of the Virgin Glykophilousa (Sweetly-Kissing) — 24K Gold Halo

This hagiography depicts the Virgin Glykophilousa — literally "the sweetly-kissing one" — an iconographic type in which the Mother of God and the Christ Child are shown cheek to cheek, in a gesture of intimate tenderness. It's one of the oldest and most venerated Marian types in Orthodox tradition.

This particular depiction is associated with an icon kept at the Monastery of Philotheou, on Mount Athos. According to tradition, the original icon belonged to a devout woman who, refusing to hand it over to iconoclasts, entrusted it to the sea rather than see it destroyed. Carried by the waves, the icon is said to have reached the monastery's shore, at the very spot where a spring of holy water is said to have emerged.

Hand-painted on a plank of aged wood, whose outline follows the natural shape of the wood, this icon pairs a 24-karat gold leaf halo with a carefully worked background, combining a bust portrait with narrative elements tied to this account.

In a 28 x 45 cm format, this hagiography reflects detail-oriented iconographic craftsmanship, where the texture of the raw wood contrasts with the shine of the gold, offering a piece that's both rustic and precious.

Like every hand-painted hagiography, this icon is one of a kind. It suits both a personal prayer corner and a church, as a support for devotion to the Mother of God.

Given as a spiritual gift or acquired to enrich a collection of religious items, this icon of the Virgin Glykophilousa carries forward an iconographic tradition and a founding story specific to Mount Athos.