Main Bead Embroidery Kit Icon of the Mother of God «Perishing»

“Icon of the Mother of God «Perishing»” is an image of the Virgin and Child built on a soft pairing of blue, white and gold. The Mother holds her Son cheek to cheek, and that single gesture sets the mood of the icon.

What the picture shows

The Virgin wears a blue maphorion with broad pale folds worked in light blue and silver beads; a red undergarment shows beneath it. The Child, in a pale blue tunic, reaches a hand towards her face. Both halos are filled with tight circles of gold and bronze beads, the smaller one overlapping the larger. Her hands are joined at the bottom of the composition in light flesh-toned beads. A wide blue border of floral ornament frames the image — blue blossoms on a light ground with rosettes at the corners. A gilded panel with a Church Slavonic inscription runs along the bottom. The fine patterned ground behind the figures stays as print on the canvas, so the beaded areas stand out in relief. The whole range rests on three colours — blue, white and gold — which is why the image reads as calm rather than busy.

What is in the kit

• Artist canvas with the full-colour pattern printed on it — no chart to follow on a screen
• Czech Preciosa beads, 14 colours
• Beading needles
• Instructions and finishing guide

Specifications

• Finished size: 190×250 mm (7.5×9.8 in)
• Beads: approx. 7,313
• Bead colours: 14
• Difficulty: medium
• Base: artist canvas

The piece is vertical and small in format — for a home icon shelf, a stand or a bedroom wall. It can be framed conventionally or finished gallery style, with the canvas stretched over a bar.