• Icon
Icon
Icon

Object ID
2006.31.7.B
Object Name
Icon
Material
Metal; Plastic
Object Entities
EKATERINA MAKRIS GATBOS, ATHANAGLOS (owned by)
Demetrakakes, Angela (is related to)
Christ, (is related to)
God, (is related to)
Spirit, Holy (is related to)
Object Description
OVAL ICON OF CHRIST, GOD AND HOLY SPIRIT, THE HOLY TRINITY
Pictured to the left (looking at the icon), is Jesus Christ. In his left hand he holds a wooden cross and in his right hand, he holds a book full of presumably religious text. He wears red and blue robes with a golden, circular halo around his head with the Greek symbols of what seems to be omicron, omega, and nu, starting from the left and working clockwise. Those symbols and the lines separating the symbols are written in red. At the top of the icon is a dove which portrays the Holy Spirit. It is surrounded by golden beams of light. Directly under the dove in black text is written, "e agia trias", which roughly translates into "Holy Trinity". To the right of the icon is God the Father. He has white hair and a beard. His left hand point to the sky with his index and middle finger. In his right hand, he holds a blue, circular object with a golden rod of some sort. He is wearing yellow and purple clothing and has a gold, triangular nimbus (halo), that also has the red Greek letters, omicron, omega, and nu.
Origin
This icon is thought to be a depiction of the Holy Trinity called the NEw Testament Trinity. The New Testament Trinity, depicts the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit distinctly, and although far more familiar from Western models, is actually of Greek origin. Christ may be shown either as an adult, (in this case he is sitting to the right of his Father) or as an infant sitting on his Father's knees, which is the norm in early Greek depictions. This type is also called the Paternity icon, and is found from the 11th century onwards, although it did not become widespread in Orthodox art until after the Fall of Constantinople, under Western influence, when an adult Christ is the norm.[1] The Father is painted as the Ancient of Days, a white-bearded man with a very special type of nimbus (it contains two rombic figures: one is red, another is blue, or is a triangle). The Holy Spirit is shown as a white dove with a halo of the same type as Father has. The dove may be placed between the Father and the Son (if they sit near each other at the same level), or the dove may be shown in a beam of light from the mouth of the Father, as if the Holy Spirit was just sent by Him.
Rights and Reproduction
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Citation
Icon, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/7598. Accessed 03/18/24.