The Virgin is depicted from the waist up, praying with her left hand on the chest, holding young Christ in her right; Christ is blessing with his right hand while holding a wrapped scroll in his left. The iconographic model of the icon is traced in a 6th century artwork found in Rome and it is also known thanks to the icon of the Virgin which according to the tradition was not made by human hand (acheiropoietos), an icon that is found on a wall or column in the church of the city Lydda (Diospoli) and was disseminated by the introduction of the honour of Virgin Mary in the 12th century. The icon was transferred to Thessaloniki from somewhere in the eastern Mediterranean, possibly Cyprus. This viewpoint is suggested by the style of the figures that combine elements of the Oriental Orthodox tradition in painting with the art of the West. The dual artistic style of the icon recalls the Lusignan period in Cyprus (1191-1478), assigning the date of the icon around 1200.