Prékopa Ágnes (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 30. (Budapest, 2016)

Szilveszter TERDIK: “Athonite” Miniature Carvings at the Museum of Applied Arts

other standard element is the Old Testament Trinity (Hospitality of Abraham), also surrounded by a liturgical text, as can be seen on the piece under discussion here.54 These two central scenes may be supplemented with additional illustrations, as on the exemplar in Budapest.

In the central medallion on the octagonal carving is the Old Testament Trinity: around a draped table sit three angels, served by Abraham and Sara. The band between the central composition and the outer frame is divided into five sections. In a small square on the central axis, two archangels are holding up the Cross; to the right is a scene of the Crucifixion, to the left the Resurrection. One of the lower fields shows the Transfiguration, while the two chief apostles, Peter and Paul, are depicted in the other, holding a model of a temple, symbolising the Christian Church. The exterior of the object was carved like a plate, and there is a small medallion-shaped section on its “base” containing an image of

11. Panagiarion with the Holy Trinity, saints and scenes from the Gospel, Mount Athos (?), eighteenth century. Boxwood. Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest, inv. no: 57.600.1

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