Carved wood icon of the Archangel Michael, small size, 200 by 160 mm

Archangel Michael Icon, Carved Solid Wood

Small: 200 × 160 mm / Cherry / None
£54.00
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Carved wood icon of the Archangel Michael, small size, 200 by 160 mm
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  • Carved wood icon of the Archangel Michael, small size, 200 by 160 mm
  • Carved wood icon of the Archangel Michael hanging on a pale wall, seen from the front
  • Archangel Michael Icon, Carved Solid Wood
  • Two hands holding the carved wood icon of the Archangel Michael, showing its size against a person
  • Carved wood icon of the Archangel Michael seen at an angle from above, with light raking across the carving
  • Carved wood icon of the Archangel Michael seen straight on, showing the carved frame and the Romanian inscription
  • Carved wood icon of the Archangel Michael seen from the side, showing the depth of the relief and the thickness of the panel
  • Archangel Michael Icon, Carved Solid Wood
Archangel Michael Icon, Carved Solid Wood

Archangel Michael Icon, Carved Solid Wood

£54.00
Please choose the language for the inscription.
Please choose whether you want a wall hanger.

An icon of the Archangel Michael, carved in relief from a single panel of solid wood. The figure stands with the spear and the orb, framed by a border cut in the same piece — the frame is not applied, it is what is left standing when the field around it is taken away.

Three sizes and two species. Cherry is the warmer of the two, reddish and close-grained, and it darkens noticeably over the years; ash is paler and open-pored, and the grain runs visibly through the drapery and the wings. The relief is cut deep enough that the icon reads differently through the day: raking morning light picks out the folds, flat afternoon light lets the face come forward.

The inscription can be set in the language you choose, and the back can be engraved with a dedication — a name, a date, a line of scripture. Made to order in our workshop in Romania.

Michael alone, or Michael and Gabriel? This panel carries the single figure, with the whole field to himself. If you want both archangels together — Michael in armour on the left, Gabriel with the staff on the right — that is a separate icon, carved to the same three sizes and the same prices.

In a household corner Michael usually stands to one side of Christ Pantocrator, the icon that sits at the centre. Other single figures in the series: Saint Nicholas, Saint Paraskeva and Saint George and the dragon.
Product details

A relief icon of the Archangel Michael, carved from a single panel of solid cherry or solid ash, with the frame cut from the same piece. Three sizes. Made to order, ready to ship in 3–5 working days.

Two things are chosen at checkout rather than by variant: the language of the inscription carved on the face, and whether you want a wall hanger fitted. Both are free. If you order the back engraving, leave your text in the personalisation field — up to 200 characters.

The inscription is available in nineteen languages: Church Slavonic, Greek, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish.
Dimensions and specifications
  • Wood: solid cherry or solid ash, one panel per icon, no glued joints
  • Small: 200 × 160 × 24 mm (7.9″ × 6.3″ × 0.9″), about 1 kg
  • Medium: 280 × 220 × 32 mm (11″ × 8.7″ × 1.3″), about 1.5 kg
  • Large: 360 × 280 × 42 mm (14.2″ × 11″ × 1.7″), about 2.5 kg
  • Tolerance: ±1 mm
  • Inscription: carved on the face, in any of nineteen languages — chosen at checkout
  • Back engraving: optional, up to 200 characters
  • Wall hanger: fitted on request, at no extra cost — choose at checkout
  • Made to order: 3–5 working days before dispatch
  • Sold individually
Mounting

An icon can stand or hang. Ordered without the hanger, the back is left flat and the icon sits on a shelf, a chest or an icon corner, leaning slightly against the wall. Ordered with the hanger, a fitting is recessed into the back so the panel sits flush.

  1. Decide the height first: an icon is meant to be seen from below, not level with the eye. Above head height is traditional and it also suits the carving, which reads better when the light falls across it from above.
  2. Use a fixing rated for the weight of your wall type — the large size in cherry is a solid panel and is heavier than it looks.
  3. Hang the icon and check it against the wall rather than against the ceiling; older ceilings are rarely level and the eye follows the frame.

Keep it away from a radiator, a stove, or a wall that gets direct afternoon sun. Solid wood in one piece moves with humidity, and steady conditions are what keep a panel flat.
Materials & workshop

Cherry or ash, cut from a single panel. Cherry is the warmer of the two — reddish, close-grained, and it deepens in colour over years rather than months. Ash is paler and open-pored; its grain runs straight and visibly, so it shows through the drapery and the wings and gives the relief a second pattern under the carved one. The two behave differently under the tool, which is why they are priced differently.

Carved, sanded and finished in our own workshop in Roman, Romania. The frame is not a separate moulding glued on: it is the original surface of the panel, left standing while the field around the figure is cut away, which is the reason the whole icon is one piece of wood and cannot come apart. The face is the slowest part — a few tenths of a millimetre change the expression, and there is no way back once the wood is gone.
Care

Dust with a dry, soft brush rather than a cloth — a cloth catches on the deeper cuts and leaves fibres behind. Never use water or a household cleaner on a carved panel.

Both species darken with time and light, cherry considerably more than ash. That change is even only if the icon is lit evenly, so avoid hanging it where one half sits in direct sun.

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