<P> As a work of art , the icon is dated to the earlier part of the 12th century , and a date shortly before its arrival in Rus about 1131 , according to the chronicles , seems plausible . Like other Byzantine works of high quality , it is thought to have been painted in Constantinople , and is regarded as the finest panel icon surviving from the Komnenian period , the few survivors from which vary considerably in quality . Only the faces and hands are original , with the clothes repainted after suffering damage when a metal cover or riza was placed over them , and in a fire in 1195 . The work shows a humanity and tenderness new to Byzantine art in this period . The reverse of the icon , which is much less well known , has a 15th - century image of the `` Prepared Table '' : a Hetoimasia with the Instruments of the Passion and other symbols . </P>
when was the eastern orthodox church icon the virgin of vladimir made
the earlier part of the 12th century