St Savvas

A devotional icon of St Savvas, originating from Alaya in Asia Minor and preserved by Gesthimani Ouzounoglou. Painted on a wooden support with egg tempera and gold, it follows the established iconographic type of the ascetic saint. St Savvas is shown standing, wearing a characteristic mantle in shades of red and blue, raising his hand in a gesture of blessing and holding a scroll with an inscription.
The heavily worn gold ground and the fine vertical cracks on the surface indicate age and long-term use in a church or domestic icon corner. The icon belongs to the traditional Asia Minor production of the early 20th century and constitutes a characteristic example of the ecclesiastical painting of the Greeks of Alaya prior to the uprooting.

Kindly made available for photography by her grandson, Giannis Margonis.