Modus: Prace z historii sztuki (19.2019)

Figurę 23. Composite icon
of the Panagia Saitiotissa,
detail: the inserted icon
from the twelfth (?) century,
Monastery of John the
Baptist in Mesa Potamos,
Cyprus. Photo courtesy of
the Monastery
->see p. 17
Figurę 24. Procession with
the composite icon at the
Monastery of John the
Baptist in Mesa Potamos,
Cyprus. Photo courtesy of
the Monastery
->see p. 18
Figurę 25. Icon with the
Virgin and Child, loannina
or Meteora (?), between
1367-1384, Monastery of the
Transfiguration of Christ,
Meteora, Greece. Photo
from Byzantium: Faith and
Power, edited by H.C. Evans,
New York 2004, p. 52,
no. 24 B
-> see p. 18

gratitude, and the local population built the monastery.61 Regardless of whether
the legend is true or not, there is still remarkable faith in the miracle and
the healing power of the image. Another Cypriot composite icon is found
in the nearby monastery of John the Baptist in Mesa Potamos.62 The image
of the Virgin Mary with the Child from the fifteenth or sixteenth century63
(see: Figurę 21) has been placed in the iconostasis of the main tempie of the
monastery (see: Figurę 22). At the height of the Virgin Marys breast, a round
representation of the Virgin Dexiokratousa was inserted within it (see: Figurę
23). Its condition prevents accurate dating, but according to tradition, it is
a work from the twelfth century, that is, from the time when the monastery
had been founded. It comes from the chapel of the Mother of God of the Life-
giving Spring (Zuiodóyoę nr]yrf), where it was known as Panagia Saitiotissa.
The chapel was destroyed at an unknown datę, then the icon was transferred
to the monastery, and when the latter was converted into a hotel around 1914,
the picture was hidden in the town of Pera Pedi, and then in Kouka. In 2003
the icon was sent to the bishopric in Limassol, and after the reinstatement of the
monastery, it was transferred to the main tempie accompanied by a procession
(see: Figurę 24).64 In both Cypriot examples, the inserted elements are treated
and venerated as relics, whereas the larger image serves as the reliquary-icon,
a vehicle to present the inserted element. Peoples responses to the relics and
the icons are related, and some scholars argue that the cult of icons derives from
the cult of relics and pilgrimage art, and the relationships between them have
been extensively discussed in literaturę on the subject.65 There are, of course,
paintings with inserted relics from saints’ bodies and objects associated with
them, for which the name of the icon-reliquaries seems to be morę appropriate
- such as, for example, an icon from the Monastery of the Transfiguration (see:
Figurę 25), where busts of saints were shown in the panels, with holes for relics,
similarly to the Cuenca diptych (see: Figurę 26), which is modelled upon it,66 or
in the composite mosaic icon from the Hermitage (see: Figurę 27).67 Treating
paintings as relics does not mean they are the same thing, however, the above
works of Amirou and Mesa Potamos could be called icon-reliquaries68 because
61 Information obtained during an interview with the nuns; another version of the legend relates
that the name comes from a man named Amiras from Smyrna. For morę Information about
the history of the monastery see: A. ncOTccyecopyiou, Aplpooę llcwayiaę, pp. 30-31; A. Ka7T7taf|,
OSoinopiKÓ ora Movaorr]pia Tr/ę Acpeocoo, Aepeoóc; 2006, pp. 82-90.
62 For the history of the monastery, see: A. ncOTayeaipyioi), Mćoa IIoTapoó Movaorr]pi, in: MeyaAr]
KunpiaKr] EyKVKXonoci8eioc, edited by A. IIavX18r|c;, vol. 10, AEUKcaoia 1989, pp. 20-21.
63 S. Sophocleous, Icones de Chypre, p. 194, no. 97; kpa Móvr] Ttpion FIpo8pópov Meoa Plorapoń
śva oSomopiKÓ oto ypovo, edited by K. KoKKtvóq)Ta<;, Aepeoóę 2017, p. 42.
64 Information obtained during a visit to Mesa Potamos, see also: a publication about the mon-
astery: kpa Móvr] Tiploo IlpoSpópou Meca rtorapoó, p. 42.
65 E. Kitzinger, The Cult oflmages in the Age before konoclasm, “Dumbarton Oaks Papers”, 8,1954,
pp. 115-119; G. Vikan, Sacred Image, Sacred Power, in: Icon. Four Essays, edited by G.Vikan, Wash-
ington D.C. 1988, pp. 6-19; idem, Relics and Icons, in: Holy Image, pp. 45-47; J. Wortley, Icons and
Relics: a Comparison, “Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies”, 43,2002-2003, pp. 163-168.
66 Morę about both icons, see: Byzantium: Faith, pp. 51-53, no. 24 B, 24 C.
67 Ibidem, pp. 225-227, no. 134.
68 Another interpretation of the term “icon-reliquary” has been proposed by I. Shalina, who used
this phrase to describe icons which depict relics, which in turn became the objects of worship
just like the relics themselves; compare: M.A. Illanima, PenuKouu b 6ocmouHoxpucmuaHCKOu
UKOHOzpacfiuu, MocKBa 2005, particularly the section titled PIkohu kuk CBFnu,eHHbiupemiKBapuu.

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Dorota Zaprzalska