The icon depicts scenes from the Nativity of Christ. At the top centre of the composition the Mother of God is shown lying on a red bed at the entrance to a cave, next to her is the Infant Christ in a manger and the Angels worshipping Him. Above the cave, on each side of it, three Magi are shown heading for Bethlehem led by the Bethlehem star and returning to Babylon. Below are the following scenes (clockwise from top left): the Worshipping of the Magi, St Joseph’s Doubt, The Appearance of the Angel to St Joseph, Herod talking to the Pharisees and Scribes, the Massacre of the Innocents and the Crying Mothers, the Escape of St Elizabeth with the Infant St John the Baptist into the Mountains, the Killing of Zechariah, The Flight to Egypt, the Angel appearing to the sleeping Magi.
