(photo may be enlarged by clicking on it)"I" is for Icon
(photo may be enlarged by clicking on it)In 1993, my daughter and her family were living on the island of Crete, Greece. I had the pleasure of spending 4 weeks with them and exploring the island -- and the shops, which offered many opportunities to spend my drachmas. Along with many other things, I bought the icon pictured above. According to the label affixed to the back: "Byzantine Icon This icon is handmade by the priest Refki, who learned the Agiography technik in Athos."
In addition to the Madonna and Child in the center, the icon features the archangel Michael on the left "door" and on the right, the archangel Raphael. (3/19/09 - correction: on the right is the archangel Gabriel. My sharp-eyed reader, rhymeswithplague, correctly interpreted the notation. It was all Greek to me.)
The icon is solid wood and has a stout hook on the top back to allow it to be hung on the wall, but since the base is quite sturdy, it sits on my bedroom dresser, as it has for almost 16 years.
ABC Wednesday was created by Mrs. Nesbitt. Please visit the ABC Wednesday site to view others' interpretations of this week's letter, "I."
25 comments:
Absolutely gorgeous, Pat.. How neat that you got to spend 4 weeks on the Island of Crete. Woo---how special...
Hope you had a good day.
Hugs,
Betsy
The Icon is so beautiful. I heard that Greece is wonderful country. Thanks for sharing..
What a beautiful item Pat - you must treasure it :)
That is just beautiful and lucky you to experience Greece for such an extended visit. Do any dancing?
ohhhh ...good choice for I!
Wonderful and beautiful.
Thanks for the congrats on our Anniversary also Thanks for your visit and kind comments on the freefall post
Dont forget my Give away Competition
I decided to click just one, whom I did not know here and you had an icon as I have today!! And bought from Greece :) What a fun coincidence!
They are such beautiful things.
We have here even tutorials for painting icons.
I just love icons and you have such a beautiful one on your dresser.
Beautiful! I too love icons; and this one is especially pretty.
Beautiful photo and what a memory of a wonderful trip!
Great choice for I!
Lovely choice for I.
That is indeed an object of beauty - and a great 'i'!
Pat, what a beautiful souvenir of Greece you brought home. Great post.
One small correction: If my eyesight is as good as my memory of the Greek alphabet, the angel on the right is named Gabriel, not Raphael.
Which brings us almost to March 25th and the Annunciation....
Clicking on the photo to enlarge it brings out a wealth of beautiful details. A whole host, you might even say.
A beautiful sample from a beautiful island!
PS I should have done some close-ups too.
That's a really beautiful icon, and I'm very jealous you got to spend four weeks in Crete!
Having been raised a Catholic, iconography has always had a strong pull on my heart and memories. Thanks for sharing, Pat.
The icon is just lovely, Pat. How wonderful that you could spend time in that special part of the world.
I don't think I have ever visited your blog before. I noticed on your profile that we enjoy some of the same movies and music. The picture of the pussy willow reminds us that spring is here.
Have a lovely week-end!
Ann
Nice informative post. You have been around -- in Greece.
That is beautiful!
A beautiful icon, Pat -- and I'm sure it brings back memories of a wonderful trip.
Lucky you to spend a month in Greece. Beautiful picture. I bet you always remember the details of buying it.
That is aboslutely gorgeous! And I sooo want to visit Greece one day. The more I learn about it, the more I want to go.
terrie
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