Icon with four Church Feasts
- Gallery: Room 40
- Culture: Late Byzantine
- Made in: Thessaloniki (Macedon) ((?))
- Date: 1310-1320 (circa)
- Object type: icon
- Materials: wood; gold
- Museum number: 1852,0102.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
This is an icon from the Late Byzantine period titled "Icon with four Church Feasts." It shows four key religious scenes arranged in two rows beneath carved arches: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Baptism, and the Transfiguration of Christ. Each scene is outlined in gold leaf and labeled with Greek inscriptions in red.
As you look closely, notice the fine detailing in the figures—olive green and brown tones shape the faces and clothing, with warm ochre and vermilion used to highlight the skin. White accents the eyes and cheeks, adding a lifelike quality.
Despite its small size, the painter captured grand theological moments with clarity and grace. The figures of prophets in the Transfiguration scene are positioned lower than Christ, fitting naturally into the circular halo around him.
This panel likely came from a larger set of icons that together told the full story of the Great Feasts. The artistry reflects strong connections with great centers of Byzantine art like Thessaloniki, but its exact origin remains a mystery.
See it in person
Icon with four Church Feasts is on display in Room 40 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
New, in beta. British Museum support has just launched and is still improving: over 1,000 objects so far, with more added all the time.
