Conserved by Foteini Diatsigkou
About the Object
The Theotokos, Hodigitria portable icon (formerly a triptych) is an heirloom that belonged to Foteini’s grandfather’s family who lived in Caesarea (now Kayseri) in Cappadocia, Turkey. It is a 19th-century post-Byzantine icon that was possibly created by a monk at the monastery of Agios Prodromos located near Caesarea. Unfortunately, there is no evidence (signature or inscriptions) to authenticate its iconographer. The Byzantine and post-Byzantine artists were mostly unknown, and because their position was regarded far secondary to that of the patron, they rarely signed their names on the icons.
Portable Orthodox icons are used for both public and private worship. Triptychs are generally created for private use, and they are positioned in shrines (icon corners). They are both means of prayer and teaching tools for the believers, so the paintings have distinct characteristics and adhere to precise hagiographic rules.
The icon travelled with the family to Constantinople (now Istanbul) during the Turkish mass persecution of Christians between 1913 to 1922, and then to Athens, Greece, in the 1950s, where it has been cherished for the last 60 years.
When the Cappadocians were forced to leave their homes, they were not only concerned with providing housing for their families, but also with bringing their sacred relics with them to their new permanent residence. In some cases, religious relics were the only belongings people were allowed to take. If they were not permitted to take them, they would hide them in their luggage so as not to leave them behind since they gave them hope for the future and courage.
The icon was displayed in the house’s icon corner which is an assemblage of various icons and other religious artefacts positioned on a small worship space (on a table/shelf or hung on a wall). A perpetually burning oil candle (traditionally with olive oil and a floating wick) was placed in front of them. Icon corners are usually located on a facing east corner or wall and are the cornerstone of the believer’s devotion in their home.
According to Orthodox Church tradition, the first hagiographer was evangelist Luke and the first icon he created with wax and colours was of the Mother of God embracing the Christ-child. Portable icons of Christ and His Mother are compelling testimonies to the truth of God’s embodiment as a human, while they illustrate the paradox of a mother holding an infant who is also her eternal creator.
Christians in general and particularly Cappadocians feed a special adoration for the Virgin Mary. It seems that they prefer having an icon of her with Christ in her arms, as she is the Mother of God and all mankind as well as the eternal Mother who protects her children.
Condition Before Treatment
-The wooden panel was severely damaged by insects which ate the wood. Several insect holes were detected on both sides of the panel. Furthermore, the insects created many hollow channels inside the panel while frass was pouring out of the holes. The insect infestation resulted in significant material loss and weakening of the mechanical strength of the panel.
-The icon was broken into two pieces. This occurred due to an accidental impact and because the wood had already been weakened by insects. As a result of the breakage, there was observed wood, gesso and paint loss along the crack line. The bottom support and the triptych’s doors also broke, separated from the panel and lost. The upper support was not damaged, but because the panel was broken, the previous owner possibly attempted to stabilise it by nailing a new support on top of the original one, distorting the icon’s original appearance.
-The portable icon is highly sensitive to relative humidity because it is composed of several organic materials which expand and contract depending on the moisture levels in their environment. Relative humidity fluctuations caused mechanical stress which accumulated over the years. The panel was distorted permanently, while cracks were formed on the gilding, paint and varnish layers (hairline cracks). Finally, the accumulated stress combined with the impact possibly caused the detachment and loss of a large area of gesso, gilding and paint at the right side of Mary’s halo.
-Due to the incorrect and fluctuating relative humidity, the nails and hinges used in the icon corroded and expanded causing mechanical stress and cracks on the wood.
-The right side of the panel’s raised arch was burnt. It is possible that it accidentally fell on the flame of the oil candle at the icon corner causing its organic components to burn, degrade, and chemically change into carbon and water (charring), resulting in material loss. Furthermore, the panel and subsequent decorative layers cracked because of the thermal shock, causing large cracks and structural weakening.
-The icon’s original varnish had deteriorated significantly, possibly as a result of extended exposure to incorrect artificial lighting and direct sunlight which caused a sequence of chemical reactions that lead to the darkening of the varnish which visually compromised the painting. High temperatures from direct sunlight, comfort heating in the winter, high temperatures in the summer, heat emitted from the oil candle and artificial lighting, and fluctuating RH possibly accelerated these reactions, causing craquelure, embrittlement, and eventually detachment and loss of the varnish.
-Accumulation of surface dirt and dust was observed possibly due to the display/use and poor maintenance. As a result, dust may have aided in the varnish’s deterioration, due to its ability to attract and retain moisture. Additionally, due to the natural varnish’s sensitivity to heat, it may have softened and the dust was attracted and embedded resulting in a more darkened surface. Finally, the combination of dust, air pollution, smoke and soot from the religious practices (oil candle, incense) the burning of the icon itself, smoking and household daily activities (cooking etc.) resulted in the deposition of a greasy dirt layer on the surface.
-White paint spots were observed mostly on the upper side of the painting surface and over the varnish layer, indicating that the icon may have been left exposed during house maintenance work.
Conservation Treatment
Aim: Physical stabilisation and aesthetic restoration of the icon, to enhance its religious value and original appearance. Because the degradation has the potential to actively inflict damage or additional materials loss, it will be treated using appropriate conservation-grade materials considering the display conditions in a domestic environment. However, the wear from its prior life will be retained with minimum retouching, and the panel’s restoration will be undertaken with extreme caution.
-First, the icon was undergone a freezing treatment preventatively to ensure that there was no active insect infestation and avoid cross-contamination of the lab’s collection.
-Facing was applied on the icon’s front side prior to any intervention to protect the painted surface from further deterioration during the treatment of the wooden substrate.
-The panel was consolidated through the flight holes with an acrylic resin starting with a low and moving up to a higher concentration, using a syringe to reinforce its mechanical strength.
-The metal components were cleaned mechanically and chemically under magnification and a layer of acrylic resin with a matting agent was applied as a protective coating.
-The modern support was removed using a hollow roll pin and a stop to drill around the nails of the support and avoid damaging the original wood. The nails were also removed with the use of pliers after protecting the original wood with a metallic flat object to avoid leaving dents.
-The broken edges were dry cleaned to ensure the optimum bond and the panel was bonded using animal glue mixed with a natural bulking agent. A hole was drilled through the already formed hole from the removed support’s nail, deeper into the panel and a bamboo dowel was inserted. Finally, the dowel was cut so it would not protrude.
-The new two-part base was made of the same wood as the original upper support. The timber was cut into shape and to incorporate the nails slots were carved. Then it was bonded to the icon’s bottom with animal glue. To further secure the base on the panel, two bamboo dowels were inserted.
-Balsa wood was used to fill the gaps that remained after the panel was reattached along the crack line. Then, an acrylic modelling paste was applied at the smaller gaps and thin cracks as well as over the balsa wood fills and the dowel at the upper support to cover them and provide a smooth surface for the retouching.
-The varnish and paint spots were removed using a combination of solvents. Then, a scalpel was used under magnification to scrape off the varnish residues with extreme caution. The paint spots were easily removed at the same time since they had been already softened by the solvents.
-Only the sections that were filled and the large area of loss at Mary’s halo were retouched with acrylic paints. To achieve the optimum result, the paints were applied in thin layers to build up the colour, mimicking the iconographer’s technique. The new base was stained with wood colouring powder to match the rest of the panel.
-Finally, one thin layer of clear acrylic varnish was applied as a protective coating over the entire painted and gilded surface.
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