Relicons is the premier website for quality religious icons. We have been online since 1998 providing Christians around the world the opportunity to share the inspiring beauty of sacred icons.

We are a family run business that takes great pride in the quality of products and service we offer our customers. That is why we carefully select each piece on our website to ensure only the best quality products are used, and select only the best iconographers to create our hand painted icons.

Sterling Silver

Silver, gold and other precious materials have been used to decorate religious icons for over a thousand years. Initially done to protect the icon from human handling in devotions, it later became a way to enhance an icon's beauty. Today, there are several manufacturers who create Byzantine icons using silver. However, not all of them have the required experience and know-how to produce high quality works. Taking great pride in the quality of the products on our site we make sure that all of our icons are made with sterling silver. Sterling silver contains 92.5% pure silver and is referred to as 925 degree silver. Several of our icons use 950 degree silver and a few use 999 degree silver which is also known as pure or fine silver.

All of the silver work is finished by hand to create the fine details that can be seen in all our pieces. Expert silversmiths with years of exerience spanning whole generations work their fine craft to ensure the utmost quality and produce beautiful pieces of religious art for your church or home.

24k Gold

24 karat gold is used in many of our icons creating a beautiful contrast with the silver and hagiographic inks. The richness and unique textures of the gold plating add to their beauty and timelessness, by highlighting the design and features of the silver. For several of our icons, liquefied 24k gold is brushed on by the artist's hand. Sheets of 22k gold leaf (gold pounded into extremely thing sheets) are also applied by hand on all of our hand painted iconography pieces.

Serigraphs

All of the non-hand painted icons we carry are created using high quality serigraphs on fine canvas. After the original work of religious art is created by experienced iconographers, it is replicated using serigraphy, a fine art, color stencil printmaking process in which special paint is forced through a fine screen onto the canvas beneath. Areas of the icon that do not print are blocked in each of the stencil screens. A sheet of high quality canvas is first inserted under the screen and special paint poured along the edge of the frame. A squeegee is then pulled from back to front, producing a direct transfer of the non-stenciled portion of the image from the screen to the canvas. This is a timely process as a separate stencil is required for each color in the serigraph, and each color must dry prior to continuing the process. None of our pieces use lower quality color prints pasted to a board.

Frames

The majority of our Christian icons come with a wooden frame. All the frames are sealed to prevent warping. The wood is either black or brown depending on the style of the icon, and all of our pieces, regardless of frame, come with a hook on the back for easy hanging on a wall. Our hand-carved wooden frames are created using linden wood. They are carefully carved and painted by experienced craftsmen who then cover the frame with bees wax to ensure durability and a lustrous shine.

Porcelain

The main material used in the creation of these icons is Grade-A Crown Bavarian porcelain. The porcelain is reinforced with Kaolin, a mineral that ensures greater durability through time, and ensures that our pieces will withstand small knocks. Cobalt, a very costly and extraordinary stable pigment of pure blue color, is used for the coloring of the icons. Since cobalt is inalterable through time, it has been used around the world on the finest pieces of porcelain since the early 1800's. 24k gold is also used around the edges of the piece to add an element of elegance to an already exquisite design.

The workmanship process for every icon is lengthy, requiring 30 to 40 days for completion. Every item is "baked" several times in special ovens that reach temperatures of over 2500° Fahrenheit. The handcrafted work on the icon is extensive and can be seen by noting the details of facial expressions, the flowing movement of the clothes, as well as the variations of shades and colors in the cobalt icons.

Prior to the conclusion of the creation process, the icon is covered with dust filings of glass and reinserted into the oven in order for the glass to bond with the porcelain and give the piece its lustrous look. Finally, liquefied 24k gold is applied by hand prior to reinserting the icon into the oven for one final time before - A beautiful work of religious art has been created.

Glass Icons

Our glass icons come in one of three varieties: Stained glass, sand-blasted glass, and fused glass. The stained glass icons come in a variety of colors, from blue to yellow, orange to red, and brown to green. The sand-blasted icons come on a translucent white glass which is achieved by spraying sand at high velocities over the surface of the glass. Fused glass is a method of melting two or more pieces of glass together to produce wonderfully colorful and patterned pieces of art.

Iconography

All of our hand painted icons are created by experienced Iconographers. They use traditional egg tempera colors and 22k gold leaf that is polished using an agate stone. This "burnished gold" technique gives all of the pieces a lustrous shine and polishes the edges of the gold leaf together. The interior of the wooden frame is usually recessed to give the piece more depth. Our hand painted icons require approximately 30-40 days for completion, and we can accommodate almost any theme request.