This icon depicts the appearance of three angels to Abraham, as recounted in Genesis 18:19. The scene takes place against the background of a rocky landscape, with the rocks highlighted in white (called leshchadka, meaning ‘split’ or ‘bevelled’ rock in Russian). From the rocks emerges a tree – the Oak of Mamre. On the left, we see stylised red buildings. Three angels with yellow haloes sit around the table, set with bowls, in red and blue robes; each one holds a sceptre. Two figures, Abraham and Sarah, identified by inscribed haloes, flank the table in the bottom register. To the left is Abraham, who is wearing a green himation over a red chiton, he presents a bowl to the angels. On the right is Sarah wearing a red himation over a green chiton and holding a cup in her hand. In the middle of the bottom register, we see a small boy, a servant of Abraham, in a red tunic, sitting atop or wrestling a grey dog, the only figure without a halo.

Early Christian theologians interpreted Abraham’s use of the singular - he addresses the three visitors as ‘My Lord’ as a divine manifestation of God in his triune form. This prefigures the New Testament and the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

The icon can be attributed to the ‘village’ school, meaning it was painted away from the main centres of icon production. It preserves features of the medieval Moscow school and consciously resists the increasing Western influence on icon painting that can be seen in the 18th century in Russia. Stylistically, this can be seen the sculptural quality of the figures’ robes painted in bold colours and the stylised architecture and landscape which recalls medieval models. It shows that even after Western baroque and naturalistic influence creeped in, more remote areas adhered to the traditional styles of icon painting, upholding the ancient tradition.