The Divine Liturgy, Crete, possibly by the hand of Emmanuil Skordilis, 17th Century (dated 1647)

at the centre is the Holy Trinity, consisting of God the Father turning with his upper body towards his Son, the Holy Spirit between them in the form of a dove, also turned towards Christ who is dressed as a Bishop, they sit above two fiery circles formed from seraphim and cherubim, on either side of the altar covered with a red and gold bordered cloth, blessing the angels who officiate at the Liturgy, cherubim represented as winged heads surround the Trinity and the Archangel Michael stands in the central foreground holding the scales of justice with six-winged angels on either side of him, the heavenly host lighting the way with candelabra; between the Father and the Son, on the table, the scroll and books are shown open from the left to the right of the icon and held by the various labelled dignitaries, among them Angels, Archangels, Dominions, Thrones, Powers and Principalities, displaying the Greek text of the Great Entrance Hymn, the final words of the hymn written on the altar cloth itself: Let all mortal flesh keep silence and stand with fear and trembling, and take no thought for any earthly thing, for the King of kings and Lord of lords cometh to be slain and given as food for the faithful. Before Him go the choirs of the angels with all sovereignty and power: the many-eyed Cherubim and six-winged Seraphim, covering their faces and crying out the hymn: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia

There is a crack to the wood to the centre and top left and part of the face of God the Father is damaged. The metal halos are of a later date. The date 1647 on the back of the icon is possibly a 19th Century addition. We would advise prospective buyers to view.
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The icon follows the traditional iconography of the Divine Liturgy, with the celestial throng standing above and below the clouds dressed in accordance with the rites of the Liturgy. They are gathered together in reverence and humility before the consecration of the bread and the wine, the bread represented by the body of Christ himself, which is born aloft to the altar, the wine by the chalice which is proffered to the figure of Christ at the centre of the icon and who forms the focal point of the composition

The sumptuous colours and detailed iconography of the icon demonstrate the skills of the painter. His mastery in the decorated garments, the rich drapery, with its fine lines, and the working of the flesh, point out the painter is working in the best Cretan tradition. The signature and the date 1647 on the back of the panel, although difficult to read and possibly of a later date, appear to attribute this icon to Emmanuil Skordilis. This Cretan painter from Chania (attested 1647–1671) was the most important painter in the Cyclades at this period. The high quality of the painting is in accordance with this attribution.

The subject of the Divine Liturgy was in all probability invented by the famous painter Michael Damaskinos (attested 1570-1591). He painted a very similar composition in around the years 1579-1591, that formed part of a series of six panels made for the Monastery of St. Catherine in Irakleion and was part of a theological program emphasising the divinity of Christ. His icon of the Divine Liturgy, seems to have been the example for a number of  icons with the same subject that were produced throughout the seventeenth and early eighteenth century. Each of these later panels offers a close variation on the Michael Damaskinos icon. They were made by other Cretan masters like Philotheos Skouphos, John Moskos and Theodorus Poulakis.  

For an example of a Cretan icon with the same subject matter from the 17th Century see Lumières de l'Orient Chrétien, Icônes de la collection Abou Adal, pp. 68-69. Another similar icon dated to the second half of the seventeenth century can be found in the collection of the Snite Museum of Art. See Manoles Borboudakes, Icons of the Cretan School, Irakleion: Vikelaia, 1993, 465. Other published examples include an icon signed Ioannis and dated late 17^th Century in the Byzantine Museum, Athens, T.1659 and one in the Hellenic Institute, Venice, 103, signed John Moskos.