Icons embroidered with gems and beads

Icons embroidered with gems and beads
Since anсient times in Russia skilled women embroidered hand-painted icons. For some of them they used overseas beads, and for others – pearls and sawed nacre, flavoring this hand-made miracle with jewels and semi-precious stones. Russian craftswoman and talented artist Maria Yantovskaya started to embroider more then 30 years ago. Noteworthy, she invented her own techniques of embroidery of icons, and then taught the others. Featured in this post works are made in her author’s techniques. In particular, every bead is sewn separately, but all together, like the Byzantine mosaic, they form an integral picture. And though these icons made strictly on an orthodox canon, nevertheless, there is a place for creativity. Even in their frames – decorated with stones, pearls, or amber. So, each hand embroidered icon is a unique.