Toile imprimée pour broderie de perles (sans perles) – icône « Sainte Marthe »

“St. Martha” — a waist-length image of the holy martyr with a cross in her hand, in a blue maphorion.

What the picture shows

The saint is turned slightly to the left, her gaze on the viewer. A blue maphorion with fine patterning covers her head and shoulders, with a white-and-blue veil edged in beads showing beneath. Her outer robe is deep red with gold insets on the sleeve. Her right hand holds a dark eight-pointed cross, her left is raised palm outward. The halo is wide, worked in rings of gold, orange and white. The background is a pale cream with printed leaf scrollwork; two fan-shaped corner motifs sit above, narrow brown-and-amber bands of a repeating motif run down the sides, and a cartouche in a gold surround closes the panel below. The beading is partial: beads cover the figure, the maphorion, the robes, the halo and the frame, while the face, hands and background stay as printed on the canvas.

What you get

• Natural artist canvas with the full-colour pattern printed on it — no chart to follow on a screen
• Colour key for Czech Preciosa beads
• Beads, needles and thread are chosen separately

Specifications

• Finished size: 170×230 mm (6.7×9.06 in)
• Beads needed: approx. 5,052
• Bead colours: 16
• Base: natural artist canvas

The piece is vertical, the size of a small household icon. It suits a name-day icon for a Martha. Blue and deep red stand side by side here as large blocks — the thin gold band on the sleeve is what holds them apart.