Our Lady Hodegetria of Kazan, gilded silver oklad, 5.25 x 4.25 inches, with an outer gilded wood frame measuring 7.5 x 6.5 inches, Provenance: The Estate of Charles M. Diez, MD; Our Lady of Kazan, also called Theotokos of Kazan is a holy icon of the highest stature within the Russian Orthodox Church, representing the Virgin Mary as the protector and patroness of the city of Kazan, and a palladium of all of Russia, known as the Holy Protectress of Russia. According to legend, the icon was originally acquired from Constantinople, lost in 1438, and miraculously recovered in pristine state over 140 years later in 1579. Two major cathedrals, the Kazan Cathedral, Moscow, and the Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg, are consecrated to Our Lady of Kazan, and they display copies of the icon, as do numerous churches throughout the land. The original icon in Kazan was stolen, and likely destroyed, in 1904.