Artemis Yagou
The embroidery is so exquisite, so rich in colour and detail, that it seems to capture a moment of profound spiritual drama. The focus of this post is no ordinary textile, it is a magnificent ecclesiastical embroidery with a complex trajectory, involving various people, localities, and beliefs. (Fig. 1) It is an Epitaphios, a large veil depicting the body of the crucified Christ, traditionally carried in procession during the Orthodox Good Friday services. 168 centimetres wide and 130 centimetres tall, crafted from silk, shimmering gold threads, and sparkling silver sequins, it is set against a rose-coloured silk background that catches the light, creating dramatic reflections and shadows. The background creates a harmonious contrast to the shapes and colours of the embroidered parts, in particular the human figures: the mourning Virgin Mary and Maria Magdalene, the disciples and angels surrounding the body of Christ. Above them, a large cross with the symbols of the martyrdom (crown of thorns, lance, and sponge) dominates the centre of the composition. This central theme is surrounded by a large arch; there are also five smaller arches with heads of angels; above the main arch, the sun and the moon can be discerned among clouds. The figures of the four Evangelists are enclosed in Baroque-style medallions on the left and right sections of the Epitaphios. (Fig. 2) Above these, there are four miniature representations, to the right Jerusalem and the Resurrection and to the left the Golgotha and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the Holy Grave lies. Various liturgical objects, such as hanging oil-lamps and myrrh containers complement the scene. Finally, a border with an elaborate, highly stylised floral decoration in Baroque style encloses the whole synthesis.


The art of ecclesiastic embroidery was practiced widely in professional workshops situated in bustling urban centres of the Ottoman Empire, such as Istanbul, Trebizond, Thessaloniki, Ioannina, and Adrianople; some works still survive in churches and museums in Greece and elsewhere. This Epitaphios however, as the signature and Latin inscription embroidered at its lower right part show, was made in Vienna by Marina Ruheland in 1796. Marina Ruheland belonged to a family of professional embroiderers and her exceptional skills were highly valued. Thanks to Ruheland’s reputation, members of the flourishing Greek communities of the Habsburg Empire as well as wealthy Greeks from the Ottoman Empire were regular patrons of her workshop, commissioning works to be dedicated to churches or monasteries. In this case, the donor’s identity is revealed by an embroidered inscription in Greek at the lower part of the object: “The present Epitaphios was dedicated to the St Athanasios metropolitan church of Ioannina by Mr Panagiotis Hadji Nikou for the salvation of his soul, year 1796.” The artefact was a custom-made product, commissioned by Panagiotis Hadji Nikou, an important personality of eighteenth-century Greek diaspora. A surviving portrait of Hadji Nikou shows him as a sumptuously dressed, solemn, and imposing figure. (Fig. 3) His family originated from Konitsa, but he was born in Ioannina in 1709. Hadji Nikou was successfully involved in the fur and leather trade in Moldavia and Wallachia, and eventually settled in Braşov, in the Habsburg-controlled Principality of Transylvania, where he died in his late eighties in 1796 or 1797. He supported the Greek community of Braşov but also his native Epirus through various generous donations and endowments. His grave is preserved in the cemetery of the Greek Orthodox church of the Holy Trinity in Braşov, where he had also donated a Vienna-made Epitaphios in 1777.

Placing his order again to a Viennese workshop in 1796 was a strategic decision. It not only guaranteed craftsmanship of the highest quality, but was also aligned with the sophisticated Baroque fashion of the time and, furthermore, could serve as a lasting monument to the donor’s wealth and piety. Commissioning a Vienna Epitaphios was compatible with Hadji Nikou’s profile as a hard-working and successful man who had amassed a great fortune away from his homeland. It was the ultimate status symbol, seamlessly blending his professional success with his spiritual devotion to his homeland. When the Epitaphios would reach its intended destination, the church of St Athanasios in Ioannina, it would constitute an enduring tribute to Hadji Nikou’s high social standing. However, given that he died either in late 1796, the year when the embroidery was completed, or very soon after, it is questionable whether the artefact ever reached the Ioannina church to which it was dedicated and where it was meant to be placed. The object is currently held at the National Museum of History in Sofia (Inv. No. 29237). According to the museum’s documentation, it originated from the St Naum Monastery in Ohrid (today in North Macedonia). How and when the embroidery travelled from Vienna to Ohrid and eventually reached the Bulgarian museum in Sofia is unclear.
Embroideries were particularly apposite as donations because they enjoyed increased visibility during religious services, which were among the best-attended gatherings by Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire. Although the 1796 embroidery is a unique, bespoke item produced for a specific customer, it also acquired a broader, public character, due to its use in the communal space of the church. Despite its high cost and splendid features, it would be accessible to the wider group of ordinary people that constituted the congregation. The representations of figures in particular emphasised emotions and helped cultivate a deep spiritual bond with the viewers of the work. (Fig. 4)

The practice of object dedication to a church bestowed great prestige upon the donors and was directly connected with their personal honour and status in the community. In the second half of the eighteenth century, charity was established as one of the values of the bourgeoisie. The increasing popularity and diffusion among Greek Orthodox commissioners of embroideries made outside their local communities manifested in particular openness and a desire for renewal. Religious art is by definition conservative, as it expresses dogma and serves worship, but at the same time it can be innovative to some degree by following the trends of secular art and is transformed through them. All forms of ecclesiastical vestments and embroideries are subject to fashions and trends – in a different way than secular clothes but within the same general framework. Although inherited styles were still prevailing in eighteenth century ecclesiastical art, donations imported from the West contributed to the movement of ideas and the assimilation of novel features, thus encouraging the cultural osmosis of traditional and new elements.
The Epitaphios of 1796 is a profound material document capturing the impact of things that move and become carriers of diverse meanings. For the donor, the hybrid nature of this object reflected complex strategies of adaptation and social positioning. He can be perceived as an individual moving not only across physical borders, but also transgressing mental and psychological barriers and embracing the latest fashion while at the same time securing his spiritual legacy. In the community, this opulent work would be accessible to everyone and members of the congregation could forge a powerful emotional connection with it. The superb artefact would serve the spiritual needs of the community and animate the imagination of its members. The Epitaphios of 1796 is therefore an artefact that moved across different territories and cultures and brings together diverse spheres of human activity, such as religion, commerce, and art. Embodying multilayered historical evidence, this object is a powerful material testimony where devotion, wealth, and craftsmanship merge. Last but not least, this Epitaphios is a moving object in the sense of evoking strong emotions today, of touching and inspiring us.
References
Athanassios E. Karathanassis, L’hellénisme en Transylvanie: L’activité culturelle, nationale et religieuse des compagnies commerciales helléniques de Sibiu et de Brașov aux XVIIIe–XIXe siècles, Thessaloniki: Institute for Balkan Studies, 1989.
Ralitsa Rousseva (ed.), ‘145. Epitaphios’, National Museum of History: Catalogue, Sofia: National Museum of History/Plovdiv: Pygmalion Publishers, 2006, p. 143–144.
Manolis G. Varvounis and Nadia Macha-Bizoumi, ‘Συνέχειες και Ασυνέχειες στην Ελληνική Παράδοση των Ιερατικών Αμφίων (19ος–20ος αι.)’ [Continuities and Discontinuities in the Greek Tradition of Hieratic Vestments (19th–20th c.)], Proceedings of the 5th European Conference on Neohellenic Studies of the European Society of Neohellenic Studies, Thessaloniki, 2–5 October 2014, Athens: Evropaiki Etaireia Neoellinikon Spoudon, 2015, p. 125–146.
Eleni Vlachopoulou-Karabina, ‘Ο Άγνωστος Επιτάφιος του Ιερού Μητροπολιτικού ναού Αγίου Αθανασίου Ιωαννίνων, Εργαστήριο Βιέννης, 1796’ [The Unknown Epitaphios of the Holy Metropolitan Church of St. Athanasios of Ioannina, Vienna Workshop, 1796], Epirotika Chronika 33, 1998–1999, p. 243–249.
Artemis Yagou, Products, Users, and Popular Luxury in Early Modern Greece, London and New York: Routledge, 2024.



