Estate Find: Hand-embellished 1940s Black Madonna of Czestochowa Icon

Description

This is a very beautiful, rare, small icon of the famous Black Madonna of Czestochwa that was obtained at the estate sale of a wealthy Catholic women of Polish descent in Washington D.C.  Her family immigrated to the US after WW II and brought this hand-embellished small icon of the Madonna that was given to them by a relative at the Shrine of Czesstochwa in Poland in 1942.  She treasured this icon all her life and had a great devotion to Our Lady under this title.  The face is a photo reproduction of the original, the halo is hand embellished with reed and her veil is hand embellished with stunning bamboo, so delicate and intricate, a true masterpiece of religious art.  The background is a black felt-like material and the back has stamp imprinted with the person at the Shrine that made the piece but it is not really legible and the family did not know the name of the artist.  The size is 4 inches x 5 inches.