Year : The chronology spans from the 11nth up to the 13nth AD
Place : Serres
Labels : The flattened cross arms in the halo of Christ, bears the inscription embossed with the letters Ο/Ω/Ν, while the plain of the image on both sides of the halo, with incised majuscule script marked the supplements:
Materials : Marble
Current Place : Archaeological Museum of Serres
Description : The figure is surrounded by a rather exhumed context width and depth of about 5cm. Christ is depicted in frontal position, attired with a rich in folds chiton and himation. The himation passes under the right arm and encircles his form, at the height of the lumbar, while covering the right shoulder and the entire left part of the figure. Christ raises his right hand and blesses with palm outward, while with his left holds a Gospel. He wears epimanikia adorned on the edge with a row of pearls surrounding His wrist. The rendering of the bindings of the Gospel, with embossed cross and the inlaid rosette in the center, the jewelry in radial arrangement, fill the triangular space above and below the junction of the arms of the cross, refers as a luxurious decoration. The depiction of the face of the Christ is strictly frontal, accurate in the details and well balanced. His body is represented heavy, with His shoulders thrown and bulky. His hands are represented sturdy with opposing movements. The right hand is in is extended in to a blessing attitude and highlighted in distinct contexts. As they are formed, both the vertical aspects of the left portion of the cornea, is combined with the closed source, and the horizontal aspects of encirclement. The robustness of the hand holding the gospel meets the rugged neck shape , while the rich hair are represented as usual in the depictions of Christ, and ending in the left shoulder. The surface of Halo, except the arms of the cross, bears the inscription: Ο/Ω/N and is beautifully inscribed, suggesting that the halo was originally brought inlayed. Unfortunately, today it is not possible to determine the material and color hue of this decoration. The rendering of the facial features are distinguished by a hyperbolic trend (mainly etching and overstressing eyes). However, the overall form exudes vitality and expressiveness, creating a sense of intimacy and simultaneously, a serene grandeur. Remarks: The view that the particular relief, together with the image of the Virgin, of which only the torso survived today, were icons of the iconostasis of the Cathedral, seems quite probable. The rare name of Christ as Patron is another peculiarity of the Serres marble image. It is interesting to mention that such names referring to homonyms, indicts to the ecclesiastical institutions of Constantinople, most of which belonged to members of the Komnenian dynasty. The marble image of Christ Benefactor of Serres is a fine example of a dynamic style, with bold monumental elements. The chronology of the relief spans from either from the Komnenian period or to the Paleologania period. The chronology spans from the 11nth up to the 13nth AD.
