Byzantine Icon and bas-relief

These religious icons and bas-reliefs, written with faith and love, are the work of a contemporary artist. The icons and bas-reliefs are handmade, and each object is unique. Therefore for the same model, there may be differences.
Low relief is distinguished from the religious icon in two points:
- the low relief is a sculpture;
- no painting is applied on the bas relief; therefore, all the color symbolism is absent.
At the drawing level, we find the same symbolism as for religious icons.

Religious icons on stone

These Byzantine religious icons are hand-written on stone. The surface of the stone on which the icon is painted is polished, but it is not a flat but slightly hilly surface; it appears on the photos of the icons by reflections and shadows. The back of the religious icon is stone in its natural state. The background of these religious icons is covered with gold leaf. The width of the stone is about 3 cm; this allows the icon to be placed vertically on a flat surface. You can still use an easel. There is neither hole or hook on the back to fix it to the wall.
Each stone on which the icon is written is hand cut. Therefore none are identical. Thus the religious icon you receive may have slight differences from the picture on our religious shop. These differences are found in the shape of the stone, the weight which can vary from 1 kg to 3 kg and the relief of the stone.
Of all the religious icons available on our religious shop, only the icons of the Romanian collection are handwritten. All other religious icons are images carefully glued on a wooden board.

The bas-reliefs

The bas-reliefs are machine-cut in linden wood; the finish is done by hand. To complete the work, the wood is tinted and a coat of varnish is added.
The bas-reliefs are all provided on the back with a hole that allows to fix it to the wall. The 3,6 cm thickness of the bas-reliefs ensures stability when placed vertically. They are carved in hollow or in curve according to the traditional method; this allows to have a molding that is one with the rest of the bas-relief. The wooden plate is reinforced on the back with two wooden stems to prevent the work of the wood distorts the bas-relief.
The shade of linden wood, traditionally used for the manufacture of religious icons, varies slightly from one bas-relief to another for the same subject.