The front side depicts Christ as the Vine, blessed by the Ancient of Days, surrounded with Apostles. The back side depicts the Tree of Jesse, with the Mother of God holding the Infant Jesus on the tree, and Jesse reclining at the base of the tree. King David is portrayed at the level of the shoulders, and the Evangelists with their respective symbols on the sleeves. The vestment is embroidered on cherry-red, satin fabric with a typical Byzantine technique. The uniform tone of gold wire embroidery is interrupted with colorful silk, resulting in a harmonious composition.
Flesh tones are rendered using darker stitches of straw-colored silk. The whole composition appears to be the work of a highly accomplished monastic workshop. The sakkos was purportedly owned by Cyril (1759-1790), but must be quite a bit older, as is also attested by the “Property Inventory of Cyril”, drawn up after his death, which does not include this vestment.
