4622 BEAUTIFUL VINTAGE RELIGIOUS SILVER MEDAL ENAMEL, MARY & CHILD,  circa 1930
 
  This antique religious medal features a representation of Our Lady of Perpetual Help on a yellow enameled background. Its back side is decorated with golden crosses and leaves over silver-bluish color enamel. At the top of the medal there are two widows decorated with amethist/purple color translucent enamel, visible at its best when the light comes from the back of the medal (see pics, please).

  The icon depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus, surrounded by angels carrying the instruments of the Passion.The piece is crafted using fire-enamel techniques over solid silver (no hallmarks, so professionally acid-tested).
 
The Greek letters are abbreviations that identify the Mother of God and Jesus Christ. 

  *Regarding the historical origin of this icon, known as Our Lady of Perpetual Help (or Virgin of the Passion), traces back to the Byzantine Cretan School of iconography between the 14th and 15th centuries.

The original masterpiece follows a deeply spiritual timeline spanning Crete, a stolen treasure, and its ultimate promotion to a global symbol:  the Byzantine Origins (Crete) he composition belongs to a specific Eastern Christian stylistic tradition known as the Cretan School. This style fused rigid Byzantine artistic theology with emerging Western Renaissance influences. Art historians often associate this specific formulation with the famous 15th-century painter Andreas Ritzos

Please refer to the pictures, they speak by themselves.

MEASURES: 41mm  HIGH , not including its hanging ring, 27mm WIDE. 

WEIGHT: 12.66 grams.

Estimated AGE: circa 1930

GENERAL CONDITION: very good general conditions, please refer to the pictures.