Dimension drawing of the small icon: 200 mm high, 160 mm wide, 24 mm deep

Saint Nicholas Icon, Carved Solid Wood

Small: 200 × 160 mm / Cherry / None
£54.00
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Dimension drawing of the small icon: 200 mm high, 160 mm wide, 24 mm deep
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  • Dimension drawing of the small icon: 200 mm high, 160 mm wide, 24 mm deep
  • Carved wooden icon of Saint Nicholas blessing and holding the Gospel book, set within a carved beaded border
  • The icon hung on a dark grey wall above a floating shelf with a plant and a candle
  • Two hands holding the icon, showing its size against an adult's hands
  • The icon seen at an angle on a white wall, showing the depth of the carved frame
  • The icon hanging flat on a wall, seen straight on
  • Side view of the icon, showing the thickness of the panel and the pale wood edge
Saint Nicholas Icon, Carved Solid Wood

Saint Nicholas Icon, Carved Solid Wood

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

Saint Nicholas in bishop's vestments, one hand raised in blessing, the other holding the Gospel book. The cross-patterned omophorion across his shoulders is carved rather than drawn, and the border around him is a row of beads cut from the same panel — plainer than a vine or a leaf border, and it leaves the face to do the work.

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 vestments. Depth runs from 24 to 42 mm depending on size, so the figure sits well back inside the frame and keeps its shadow through the day.

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.

The beaded border on this one is the quietest in the series. If you want more pattern around the figure, Saint Paraskeva has a scrolling leaf border, Christ Pantocrator a band of carved rosettes, and the Holy Trinity after Rublev a pierced lattice cut right through the panel — same three sizes, same prices.
Product details

A relief icon of Saint Nicholas, carved from a single panel of solid cherry or solid ash, with the beaded border 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. The photographs show the Romanian inscription.
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
  • Frame: carved beaded border, worked from the same panel as the relief
  • 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 the size you ordered — 1 kg for the small, 1.5 kg for the medium, 2.5 kg for the large — and for your wall type.
  3. Leave the screw head standing 4–5 mm proud of the wall and hook the fitting over it.
  4. Check the icon against the wall rather than against the ceiling; older ceilings are rarely level and the eye follows the frame.

Do not use adhesive strips. The weight and the depth of the panel put the load in the wrong place for them. Keep the icon 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 vestments 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 beaded border 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. Every bead is cut individually, and a row that runs unevenly is visible from across the room, so this frame is slower than it looks.
Care

Dust with a dry, soft brush rather than a cloth — dust settles between the beads of the border and a cloth only moves it along. 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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