This particular image is thought to have originally been created in sixth or seventh century (though others place it even earlier, even as early as the first century), being perhaps made in Egypt or Syria before being brought to Rome by those fleeing the ninth century Byzantine iconoclastic crisis.
The image presents a very tender image of the Blessed Virgin in a style which is somewhat distinctive from medieval forms of iconography which are far more heavily stylized. (Though it must be said, stylized features are still clearly present of course.)
Whether this stylistic distinctiveness has to do with the influence of the particular place in which it was created or whether it is more so influenced by the time in which it was created (for, in my experience, the closer iconographic and mosaic images are to 'Roman times,' the more they tend toward a greater naturalism) is difficult to say, but whatever the case, it is an absolutely striking image, even despite a great portion of it having been worn away over the course of the centuries -- for this is a rare survival of an encaustic image; an image created by having pigment added into hot wax and then applied to a surface. Fortunately the most important part of the image, the face, is still clearly visible, as is, in part, the star seen on the Virgin's head, proclaiming her virginity.
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| Pope Benedict XVI praying before the image of Maria Advocata in 2010 |
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