Icon "Sorrowful Mother of God"

The icon belongs to the so-called "folk" type.

The icon shows a half-length image of the Mother of God, in a three-quarter turn to the left, her hands folded on her chest in a gesture of prayer. She wears a blue tunic with a gold border and a red maphorion; around her head is a halo in the form of a radiant glow. Above her head is the Church Slavonic inscription "MR ΘU" ["Mother of God"], and to the right the inscription: "The Sorrowful Mother of God."

In the upper left corner is a depiction of the severed head of John the Baptist, lying on a platter on a table covered with a green cloth; to the left, above the head, hangs a red curtain. John the Baptist has long dark hair, a small beard and mustache. His eyes are closed, and a round halo surrounds his head. Above John's head is the Church Slavonic inscription: "The Beheading of John the Baptist."

The icon was probably created in the early 20th century, in the Ukrainian sloboda of Borysivka, Hraivoron district, Kursk province, in the Sloboda Ukraine region.

In 1991 the icon was acquired by the museum from Serhii Ivanovych Myroshnychenko of Kharkiv.