I have already introduced to you some products from Legacy Icons in this year’s 12 Days of Christmas Gifts Series, based in the United States. Today, I want to introduce to you another place that produces handmade reproductions of Byzantine icons. Now, before I head into my review, you may be asking, “What’s with The Catholic Man and icons these days?” Ever since I was young, I had a special love for icons – they are able to sum up Biblical stories well, and full of theological meaning behind them. On a financial point of view, I have found that while there are many beautiful statues, high-quality iconographic reproductions are often times even less expensive than statues. Note, I am saying “reproductions,” not “original-handpainted” icons which can land you in the hundreds to maybe thousands of dollars, depending on the size. The only handpainted icons that I have seen sold for a “layperson” price tag are those from BlessedMart which I reviewed last year for the 12 Days of Christmas Gifts.
No products reviewed are identical to each other, and so will this review be, alongside the other icon stores reviewed thus far. Athos Icons is based one Greece, and if you have taken a course in Christian history (like myself this semester), you will know where Greece stand in terms of style of Christian art. Icons, as I already mentioned in this blog before are more prominently used in the eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches compared to the western Roman Catholic Church. Like any Google search, I wanted to know more about them, and so here is a little introduction of Athos Icons:
We are a small family workshop that produces hand-made hagiographies and handmade copies of Byzantine icons since 2010 in Greece. Using the best raw materials, modern and traditional methods of production guaranteeing the best possible result according to the rules of the Byzantine tradition.
Athos Icons, About Us
For the purposes of this review, I reached out to them and they gladly sent me a sample of their icons, more specifically two 10x14cm icons of The Nativity of our Lord, Jesus Christ and a more common icon, Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd. These are only two out of a very WIDE range of icons on their site, divided into the categories of: Jesus, Theotokos (Marian), Saints, Angels and Representations (Biblical Events).
Upon opening the little box containing the two icons, I honestly had mixed thoughts. I was impressed with the icon of The Good Shepherd icon, due to its contrast and colours, but was honestly a bit disappointed with the Nativity icon, because compared to the reproduction of The Good Shepherd icon, it seems to have been washed out in colour – the colours are not as vivid as The Good Shepherd one.
The icon itself printed on what seems to be matte high-quality paper, on a plywood of approximately 12mm thick. The finish of it is not completely matte, but not glossy either. I would classify it as semi-matte. It is smooth, and seems to be a result of the “moisture resistant turpentine varnish.” The fact that it is “moisture resistant” is important because as a Roman Catholic, it is customary to get Sacred Images blessed before use. For that holy water is sprinkled on the image. It was mentioned in my review of BlessedMart that upon blessing, the text of the book of Christ the Pantocrator “disappeared” because the ink used was soluble. The wooden board is painted red, and includes a “certificate” at the back, certifying that it is a high-quality reproduction and recognizing that it was made in Greece. There is also a metal wall hanger at the back. As you can see, very simple icon reproductions, finished by hand and probably with much love, care and devotion.
Besides the “washed-out” icon of the Nativity I remarked earlier (and I hope the producers will change the contrast of the image in the future), I also have to note that the edges of the icon are not smooth… possibly because it is ply wood. I think to fix this in the future, there could be a thicker layer of paint or varnish around it to make it smoother?
Their website also features “gold prints“, I assume prints that have gold foil or gold ink on the background, making it look like gold leaf (?) I was not sent a sample of these types of icons, so for now I can just assume. I wish that on this page, there would be some explanation. Their home page also features “handpainted icons,” but clicking on it leads me to an empty “Hagiographies” page. I hope these pages will be updated one day.
These icons are economically price. However you get what you pay for. However, even though icon reproductions does not imply that they are cheap – ones mounted with hardwood like those of Legacy Icons can be anywhere from $9.95 USD (starting with a 2″x4″) and above (in terms of regular price, and also depending on the size). These ones are in an even lower price range, starting at €3.95 (USD) for a 6x9cm (2.4″ x 3.5″) icon reproduction (~$4.77 USD as of Dec. 9, 2020), though mounted on plywood. I will let you make your own conclusions you prefer. However, for me, I would get a range of various icons from various places. If you have a wish like mine to do an icon wall, and want to do it on a budget, I would likely vouch for Athos Icons.
Check out Athos Icons’ wide variety of icons here.
Disclaimer: Athos Icons provided us with samples of their icons for us, and so provide an honest review, and feature on this blog. All thoughts expressed in the review are our own. We thank MDS for the opportunity to review their products.
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