Russian icons-pendants of the XI-XVI centuries. depicting Christ

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Group I. Russian icons-pendants of the XI-XVI centuries. depicting Christ (Tables I-III)

The images of Christ occupy the main place both in the Orthodox church and in the house of a Christian. Christ on them is most often dressed in a chiton and himation (outer garment in the form of a cloak) and has a book (closed or open) or a scroll in his hands. The face of Christ on frescoes, tempera icons and most works of small plastic, in particular, pectoral crosses with the image of Jesus Christ, surrounds a cross halo, into which Greek letters can be inscribed οων, which means or and conveys the words of God spoken to the prophet Moses (Ex. 3: 13-14). To the left and to the right of the figure of Christ are usually placed the monograms IC - XC under the titles.

The images of the Savior on the pendant icons that make up group I (36 copies; 10.4% of the total) refer to four main iconographic subgroups (Fig. 4): I. A. Spas Emmanuel; I. B. Lord Almighty; I. V. Savior on the Throne; I. G. The Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands.

Subgroup I. A. Icons depicting the Savior Emmanuel

Savior Emmanuel (name means) is an iconographic type representing Christ in adolescence (Fig. 4.1). The name of the image is associated with the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 7:14), which was fulfilled in the Nativity of Christ. The name Emmanuel is assigned to any depiction of Christ the youth, both independent and as part of more complex compositions. The youth Christ is always depicted marked with the seal of spiritual maturity and, as a rule, with a scroll in his hands.

The pendant icons with the image of the Savior Emmanuel included in the article (Table I, 1–5) have round, iconic and arched shapes and date back to the 12th – 13th centuries. The places where published specimens were found, as a rule, are located within the historical territory of Kievan Rus.

Subgroup I. B. Icons depicting the Lord Almighty

The image of the Lord Almighty (Pantokrator) can be seen in every Orthodox church. It is usually located to the right of the Royal Doors on the iconostasis or depicted on the vaults of the temple, showing that Christ is looking at us from heaven. The face of the Savior reflects here the age of Christ during the preaching period: he has straight, smooth hair that falls over his shoulders, not a large mustache and a short beard. His right hand in a blessing gesture, the left hand supports the closed or revealed Gospel (Fig. 4.1).

The Lord Almighty is the Creator, Sovereign, Judge and Savior of the world. The Almighty Lord is called many times in the Old and New Testaments: (Job 38–39); "Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments" (Rev. 16: 7) and others.

The pendant icons depicting the Lord Almighty included in the Catalog (Table I, 6-16; II, 17-24; III, 25-33) are most often round, less often rectangular, icon-shaped and arched. In the overwhelming majority of cases, they belong to the pre-Mongol period, including the unique openwork relief icon of the 11th – 12th centuries. (Table I, 16), and were found, with some exceptions, within the historical territory of Kievan Rus.

Subgroup I. B. Icons depicting the Savior on the Throne

The image of the Savior seated on the Throne (Fig. 4.2) has a number of common iconographic elements with the image of the Lord Almighty, in particular a book blessing the hand, etc. The throne is a symbol of the Universe, the entire visible and invisible world, and in addition, it is a sign of the royal glory of the Savior … In the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord, addressing the apostles, says: (Matthew 19:28).

Two pendant icons with the image of the Savior on the Throne, included in the Catalog (Table III, 34, 35), have an iconic shape (type 4), are replicas of the same prototype and date from the 12th - first half of the 13th century. One of them was found in the historical territory of Kievan Rus.

Subgroup I. G. Icons depicting the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands

According to Christian tradition, known from the 4th century, the Not-Made-To-Hand Image of the Savior - the face of Christ on the ubrus (plate) - was captured for the king of Edessa after the artist sent by him failed to depict Christ. Christ washed his face, wiped it off with an imprint, and gave it to the artist. Thus, according to legend, the ubrus with the face of the Savior became the first icon of Christ in history. In 944 this icon was transferred to Constantinople, and then the iconography of the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands was assimilated by the art of Ancient Rus (Fig. 4.2). One of the oldest Russian tempera icons with this subject - the Savior Not Made by Hands - dates back to the second half of the 12th century.

The only icon-pendant depicting the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, included in the article (Table III, 36), has a diamond shape, originates from the Novgorod region and dates from the 15th - early 16th centuries.

From the editor.

Images of Christ on Russian icons-pendants of the XI-XVI centuries. have many common features of iconography with images of Christ on Russian pectoral crosses of the same period, which you can get acquainted with in our previous materials: - Russian icons-pendants of the XI-XVI centuries. with the image of the Mother of God - Glass icons-litics on the territory of the USSR and Russia - Rare pectoral crosses of the 15th - 16th centuries. with the image of Jesus Christ and selected saints - Neck-shaped keeled crosses of the 15th - 16th centuries with the image of the Mother of God, Jesus Christ and selected saints - Old Russian neck crosses of the 11th-13th centuries