Panagia Eleousa – Embossed Gold Print with Sandblasting – Mount Athos

Description

Embossed Gold Print with Sandblasting of the Virgin Eleousa

An exquisite embossed gold-printed depiction of the Virgin Eleousa.
The original icon of the Virgin Eleousa was discovered through apparitions of the Virgin Mary to an eight-year-old boy, Athanasios Syros, in Thessaly in 1954. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared twice to the young boy, yet his parents and fellow villagers did not believe his accounts. In 1962, when a digging machine arrived in the village of Xyniada to create roads, the icon was uncovered at the base of an oak bush, precisely where the boy had indicated years before. Upon seeing the icon, the villagers sought forgiveness from the now-grown boy and, even more so, from the Virgin Mary herself. It is believed that the icon dates back to the period of iconoclasm and was buried to protect it from destruction.

Embossed Gold Print with Sandblasting: Characteristics

In the icon of the Annunciation, the monastic iconographer utilized the technique of embossed gold printing to create a work of unique beauty. Gold stamping is a type of thermal printing technique, in which a very thin metallic gold foil is applied to surfaces like wood, leather, cardboard, or plastic using a heated, embossed plate. Around the icon’s edges, the sandblasting technique is also applied, a method where part or all of a surface is abraded by applying sand under pressure.
 

Dimensions: 24 x 22 x 1.5 cm
Origin: Mount Athos