The icon has a frame of a complex profile imitating at the sides columns with capitals, ending at the top in an arch. The ornamentation consists of floral and geometrical filigree designs in both shallow and deep carving. The nimbus is decorated in the same ornamental design as the frame.

The rendering of the Virgin is traditional -a full-face, waist-length figure, holding the playing Infant, where the name of the icon comes from. The exquisite proportions of the figures, the beautiful faces with rosy cheeks, the elongated limbs, the delicate painting and the bright, precise colour scheme relate the work to Mount Athos art.