Grinded gold or silver to the powder, which is used as a paint.

According to the records of the contemporary Patriarch Hermogenes (at the time the priest of the Gostinodvorskaya church of Kazan - Yermolay), after the fire in Kazan in 1579, which has destroyed part of the city, the Mother of God appeared in the dream of a nine-year old Matrona, and ordered to dig out her icon from the ashes.The icon was indeed found in the specified location at a depth of one meter.The appearance day of the Kazan Icon - July 8, according to the Julian calendar - in our days the general church festival in the Russian Church. At the place where was the appearance of the icon, was built nunnery of the Mother of God, and the first nun became the Matron, who has adopted the name - Mavra. Iconographic the icon of Mother of God of Kazan is usually referred to an abbreviated version of the Hodegetria. The Mother of God is depicted in the typical garb, with a slight inclination of the head of the Child. The infant Christ is presented strictly full-face, the figure is limited to the waist,only the right hand with the blessing gesture is visible. The Mother of God of Kazan, of our research, - one of the most revered and most reproducible icon of all icons in Russia.