Saint Hypomone – Gold-Embossed Icon – Mount Athos

Description

Gold-Embossed Icon of Saint Hypomone

An exquisite gold-embossed icon of Saint Hypomone.

Saint Hypomone came from royal lineage and was a devout Christian with deep faith in God. At the age of 19, she married Manuel II Palaiologos (in the late 1390s AD), a few months before he became Emperor. As Empress, she was beloved by the people and was a blessed mother of eight children, whom she raised in the Christian faith. After the death of her husband, she became a nun at the Monastery of Lady Martha, taking the name Hypomone (“Patience”). Three of her children followed the monastic path as well. It was God’s will that she would not witness the final tragic moments of the Byzantine Empire. He called her to Him on March 13, 1450 AD, after she had served 35 years as Empress and 25 as a humble nun.

Gold-Embossing with Sandblasting: Features

In the icon depicting Saint Hypomone, the monk iconographer used the gold-embossing technique to create a work of unique beauty. Gold embossing is a type of thermo-printing technique. This method involves applying a very thin sheet of gold foil onto surfaces such as wood, leather, cardboard, or plastic by pressing a heated engraved plate (die) onto the surface. Around the border of the icon, the sandblasting technique is also used—an abrasive process where part or all of a surface is etched by blasting it with sand under pressure.