In the history of church art, the end of the 19th century was marked by the widespread popularity of printed icons. Factory products — images of saints stamped on cardboard or tin — were cheap and accessible to all segments of the population.
Such industrial images were additionally decorated with revetments made of tin and foil. The revetments could be either one-piece or consisting of small copies of icons printed on metal. These printed scenes (“kleimo” — literally “mark, branding”), which make up the revetment, depicted biblical stories, icons dedicated to holidays, as well as images of saints.
The Museum Complex of Kuybyshev houses a fragment of an icon’s revetment, depicting the scene “Holy Martyrs Gurias, Samonas and Abibus”. It was created at the beginning of the 20th century.
The fragment is a plate made of metal foil, close to a square in shape. In the center of it is a depressed flat oval bordered by a relief frame with a “blade” pattern applied by stamping.
The oval features the image of the three saints made using printed plates. They are depicted full-length, in ancient clothing with halos over their heads.
On the left is the image of Saint Gurias. He is presented as an elder with a cross in his left hand — a symbol of martyrdom. In the center is Saint Samonas. His left palm is pressed against his chest. On the right is Saint Abibus, on whose clothes one can see fragments of a large floral pattern characteristic of the southern regions of Russia.
The rest of the image is almost completely lost. It could only be noted that Abibus, who was a deacon, was usually depicted in icons in a sticharion — a liturgical vestment, and with a censer — a container in which incense is burnt.
A wide frame is painted on the inner edge of the icon’s middle part in black. The image name is printed in the upper central part along the inner edge of the oval. The outer field of the plate is framed by convex dots. There are relief vignettes in the corners and a simple geometric frame around the edges.
The preachers Gurias and Samonas were beheaded in the late 3rd — early 4th centuries for refusing to renounce their faith. A few years later, the martyr Abibus was buried next to them: he voluntarily gave himself into the hands of executioners, saving other Christians from persecution.
The saints are depicted together because they were martyred in the same city and on the same day — November 15, although in different years. Posthumous miracles are known from their hagiographies, in which all three of them acted as defenders of a devoted woman who was hurt; hence, these three saints are revered by the Church as guardians of family and marriage.
Such industrial images were additionally decorated with revetments made of tin and foil. The revetments could be either one-piece or consisting of small copies of icons printed on metal. These printed scenes (“kleimo” — literally “mark, branding”), which make up the revetment, depicted biblical stories, icons dedicated to holidays, as well as images of saints.
The Museum Complex of Kuybyshev houses a fragment of an icon’s revetment, depicting the scene “Holy Martyrs Gurias, Samonas and Abibus”. It was created at the beginning of the 20th century.
The fragment is a plate made of metal foil, close to a square in shape. In the center of it is a depressed flat oval bordered by a relief frame with a “blade” pattern applied by stamping.
The oval features the image of the three saints made using printed plates. They are depicted full-length, in ancient clothing with halos over their heads.
On the left is the image of Saint Gurias. He is presented as an elder with a cross in his left hand — a symbol of martyrdom. In the center is Saint Samonas. His left palm is pressed against his chest. On the right is Saint Abibus, on whose clothes one can see fragments of a large floral pattern characteristic of the southern regions of Russia.
The rest of the image is almost completely lost. It could only be noted that Abibus, who was a deacon, was usually depicted in icons in a sticharion — a liturgical vestment, and with a censer — a container in which incense is burnt.
A wide frame is painted on the inner edge of the icon’s middle part in black. The image name is printed in the upper central part along the inner edge of the oval. The outer field of the plate is framed by convex dots. There are relief vignettes in the corners and a simple geometric frame around the edges.
The preachers Gurias and Samonas were beheaded in the late 3rd — early 4th centuries for refusing to renounce their faith. A few years later, the martyr Abibus was buried next to them: he voluntarily gave himself into the hands of executioners, saving other Christians from persecution.
The saints are depicted together because they were martyred in the same city and on the same day — November 15, although in different years. Posthumous miracles are known from their hagiographies, in which all three of them acted as defenders of a devoted woman who was hurt; hence, these three saints are revered by the Church as guardians of family and marriage.
