18th C. Post-Bzyantine Greek Icon?

Not in great shape but from just a few similar samples online I'm guessing 18th c Post-Bzyantine? Thoughts on value of restoration and worth?

 

Genuine objects of veneration from the 1700s were done by very skilled craftsman. Given crude painting and construction, I'd think a decorative reproduction. And what circumstances do you think it could have been submitted to that would result in that type of wear? Especially to the interior images which which are protected by wooden doors?

Debora

 

If it's of any decent age I'd not hazard a guess and the circumstances it might have faced. Perhaps where it was displayed the protective wooden doors were not used. But it the originals were typically of better quality, if I were making a decorative repo I'd try and make it as much like the originals I was copying as possible, not something dissimilar.

 

Well, the internet is your friend. Here is an authentic hinged icon from the 1600s. Perhaps you'll find it helpful for comparison.

Debora

 

My opinion, for what it is worth: the hanging wire does show some patina, and I'd guess it indicates a date in the 1960's, maybe slightly earlier. But the general crudeness of the painting bothers me; genuine icons, old or new, generally are not crude. They were items of veneration, generally painted by monks in Greece; carefully painted and well-cared for in use.
Not left out in the rain.......

I'm tending towards the reproduction/decorative item theory.

I might add that the lettering does appear to be Greek: ICXC, a "Christogram" or abbreviation for Jesus Christ, and NIKA, Greek for "conquers" or "is victorious." However, the cross depicted is the Latin cross, not the Greek cross that would be expected on an Eastern Orthodox religious item. The A in NIKA appears in an odd, stylized, atypical form; may either point toward a reproduction, or perhaps toward a regional Cyrillic variant (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrillic_script for information on the Cyrillic alphabet and the many regional variations).

 

I tend to agree that it's a repro. I've been to Greece several times and seen icons in churches that are older than this and they are fabulous. Faux finish and bad painting. Probably made for the tourist trade.