The icon was painted using the ancient
encaustic technique and had a
gold background from the start. The technique is Egyptian, and the Madonna closely resembles the
Fayum mummy portraits of
Upper Egypt. In this context, it is significant that the icon of the
Madonna di San Sisto (=
Maria Advocata) was carried in procession on the eve of the
Assumption (15 August); this icon and
an icon of
Christ Pantokrator from the
Lateran Palace, which was also carried along, are made to bow to each other. The latter is said to have been one of the oldest images of Christ, and not created by human hands (Greek: ἀχειροποίητον,
acheiropoieton), now in the
Sancta Sanctorum chapel of the
Lateran Palace. The route of this procession initially led from the Lateran via the
Via Sacra and
Sant'Adriano at the
Roman Forum to
Santa Maria Maggiore, later also stopping in front of
Santa Francesca Romana and
San Sisto Vecchio. The model for this Roman procession were processions with icons of Christ and the Mother of God in Constantinople dating to the 6th century, where the icons assumed a quasi-personal character and acted as individuals. Until the 10th century, the primacy of the five oldest and most important Marian icons in Rome was disputed, although they sometimes belonged to different iconographic categories:
Maria Advocata from
San Sisto Vecchio (6th century),
Regina Coeli (since the 19th century
Salus Populi Romani) from
Santa Maria Maggiore (6th/7th century),
Madonna del Conforto from
Santa Maria Antiqua and then
Santa Francesca Romana (6th/7th century), the temple image of Mary from
Santa Maria ad Martyres (6th/7th century), and
Madonna della Clemenza from
Santa Maria in Trastevere (7th century). According to
Hans Belting's research, it is likely that the
Maria Advocata of San Sisto played the leading role during the August procession of the Assumption since the 10th century; she was also the first icon of Mary in Rome, and was expressly declared to be an image of
Luke around 1100. Among these early Roman Marian images,
Maria Advocata was the oldest and most famous icon: she was the only one painted on a gold background, occupied a privileged position in the August processions and more early copies were made of her than of any other Marian icon in Rome. These copies of the
Advocata were particularly sought after because they also took part in the special veneration of the oldest icon of Mary and were also carried in processions in Rome and
Latium. However, only the icons of the iconographic type of Mary as intercessor and not those of the
Hodegetria and other types count as such copies. The copies of the
Advocata that have survived to this day include, such as the icon in
Santa Maria in Aracoeli (8th/9th and 12th centuries). File:MADONNA OF THE GOLDEN HANDS, VENERATED AT SANTA MARIA IN ARACOELI.jpg|The Madonna Aracoeli,
S. Maria in Ara Coeli, 11th/12th c. File:12th-century unknown painters - The Madonna as Advocate (Haghiosoritissa) - WGA23862.jpg|
Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, 12th c. File:Madonna Advocata (Santa Maria della Concezione in Campo Marzio).png|
S. Maria della Concezione in Campo Marzio, 12th/13th c. File:Hagiosoritissa Santa Maria in Via Lata (Rome).png|
S. Maria in Via Lata, 12th/13th c. File:Madonna S.Alessio.jpg|
SS. Bonifacio ed Alessio, 12th/13th c. File:Vergine di grottapinta, 1100-1150 circa, dalla chiesa di san salvatore in arco 03.JPG|
S. Lorenzo in Damaso, 12th/13th c. File:Hagiosoritissa-Santa Maria Maggiore (Tivoli).png|
S. Maria Maggiore, Tivoli, 13th c. == History ==