the Mother of God depicted half-length on gilded wood ground wearing a blue tunic and a purple maphorion fastened at the chest with a transparent white veil draped over her hair; the orange mantle of Christ decorated with fine gold lines and the hems of the mantle of the Mother of God decorated with refined pseudo-Kufic motifs, the Mother of God holding Christ on her right arm, whilst resting her left hand lovingly on his legs, Christ holding a globe in one hand and making a sign of blessing with the other

Angeliki Lymberopoulou, ''Late and Post-Byzantine Art under Venetian Rule: Frescoes versus Icons, and Crete in the Middle'', A Companion to Byzantium, Liz James (Ed.), (Volume 37 Blackwell Companion to the Ancient World), Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester,  p.362-363

The reverse of the panel impaired by woodworm, the two struts missing, some restoration to the gilded background, especially to the left and to the right of the face of the Mother of God, some minor damage to the face of the Mother of God, especially above her left eye, some retouching to the neck and to the left hand of the Mother of God, a restored vertical crack of approx 2cm wide running from top to bottom of the panel on the right side through the mantle of the Mother of God, a small patch of retouching to the right side of the mouth of Christ
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The iconography of the Madre della Consolazione is of Western origin and has clearly been influenced by Italian prototypes of the 14th century. The icon's Italian title refers to the suffering of Christ, as anticipated by his mother. It has been suggested that the model was introduced to the Orthodox Christian world by the famous icon painter Nikolaos Tzafouris (active by 1489, d. 1500).