Angels (Detail), Christmas Issue Icon, Republic of Cyprus

The Nativity scene illustrated on this stamp is reproduced from a gilded wood-carved icon forming part of the early 16th century iconostasis in the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary in the village of Kourdali. One of several paintings in the church depicts two kneeling couples holding a model of the church between them. An inscription records ""The supplication of the servant of God, deacon Kourdalis and his wife and children, the founders of the monastery"". Evidently the church once belonged to a monastery and the village that grew around it acquired the name of its founder Kourdali. (Extract from: The Painted Churches of Cyprus, 2nd edition) Painted in the Italo-Byzantine style, the Virgin Mary is shown lying down on a bed, looking away from the infant Jesus who is in the manger in a cave. Above the cave a star is seen descending from heaven on a ray of golden light. In the top left hand corner the three haloed angels are singing hymns and below them are the three wise kings arriving on horseback.