# Icon of the Virgin and Child

- Date: 500s CE
- Medium: wool and dye
- Classification: Textile
- Dimensions: Overall: 178.7 x 110.5 cm (70 3/8 x 43 1/2 in.); Mounted: 197.4 x 128.2 x 6.4 cm (77 11/16 x 50 1/2 x 2 1/2 in.)
- Culture: Egypt, Byzantine period
- Credit line: Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1967.144)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1967.144/1967.144_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Woven from more than 20 colors of woolen thread, this rare tapestry was more expensive than a painting when it was made. The historical price reflected contemporary viewers’ appreciation for the skilled color blending by the weavers. Hung on a wall, this tapestry allowed viewers to venerate (honor) the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child in the Christian Orthodox church. Angels and apostles surround them, their names written in Greek. To be spiritually effective, an icon (devotional image) should follow its subject’s established visual tradition as closely as possible.