Wholesale Devotional icon of Christ Pantocrator on wood, Greek Orthodox tradition

There are religious objects intended for churches, great ceremonies and the eyes of all. And then there are those more modest, almost intimate images that were kept close at hand. This small icon belongs to that second world. On a real wooden panel is depicted Christ Pantocrator, one of the fundamental images of the Eastern Christian tradition. Christ appears facing forward, his gaze turned toward the viewer. His right hand is raised in the gesture of blessing while his left hand supports the open Gospel. The Greek characters visible on its pages refer to one of the most famous passages of the Gospel according to Saint John: “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Around his face spreads the golden halo, now uneven and marked by time. Muted greens, deep reds, golds and earthy tones give the whole that particular presence of Orthodox images. Iconographic reproduction applied to wood, made in the second half of the 20th century in the tradition of small Greek and Orthodox devotional images. The surface has crazed, some parts have slightly lifted or worn, the red borders have lost their regularity and the bare wood on the back has darkened. The object bears the marks of the decades it has passed through. Its very small size, about 10 × 6.5 cm, gives it a particularly intimate dimension. An image of this size did not need to be monumental to be important. It can naturally join a religious art collection, a cabinet of curiosities, or simply be kept for what it remains: a small image of light on a piece of wood marked by time.