"The Ichthus" Peghead Inlay
Chris recently developed the Ichthus peghead inlay at the
request of a client who wished his custom instrument to reflect his deep faith
in God. The simple, elegant symbol of the Ichthus was chosen to communicate that
message, and Chris is happy to offer the Ichthus peghead inlay in Maple as a
no-additional-cost option on his instruments. The Ichthus inlay in white
Mother-of-Pearl or figured Abalone is available for an additional $50.00.
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"The Ichthus" Peghead Inlay in Maple
(click picture for larger version) |
History and Symbolism of the Ichthus
In the times of the early Roman Christians, followers of Christ were often
persecuted for their faith and any outward symbol of their belief could often
get them imprisoned or killed. However, for their underground movement, the
practitioners needed some means of identifying one another, and for safety they
chose a symbol that was not directly associated with their faith. Thus the fish
symbol was born.
For the symbol to be a success there had to be some recognizable links with the
faith. The fish was said to symbolize the baptismal waters, the loaves and
fishes that Jesus used to feed the five thousand, and Jesus' own declaration to
the disciples to become 'fishers of men'. The Greek word for fish, ichthus, is
an acrostic consisting of the initial letters of five more Greek words, which
briefly but clearly described the character of Christ and His claim to the
worship of believers: 'Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter' which translates as
'Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour'. An acrostic is a poem whose initial or last
letters can be put together to form a word or message.
The Apostles were often referred to as "fishers of men".
Followers of Christianity were called Pisciculi; the root of this Latin
word is "fish". The ichthus symbol was simple to draw and was often used among Christians
as a type of password during times of persecution by the Roman government. If
two strangers met and were unsure whether each other was a Christian, one would
draw an arc in the earth representing one-half of the ichthus symbol. If the
other were a Christian, they would complete the symbol with a reverse arc,
forming the outline of a fish.
The symbol of the fish and the word ichthus (or icthus) gained a meaning of high
significance for those early Christians, and is still recognized as a Christian
symbol today. For some time a chalk fish-mark was used by homeless
wanderers to mark the houses of people who could be depended on for charity or
for food. The ichthus is
commonly seen today in the form of a bumper sticker or casting mounted on the trunk
lids of cars. The body of the symbol may be empty, or may contain a name
("Jesus" or "ICTUS").
Options 
CB instruments are all truly custom-made
instruments, made to order for the individual and completely hand-built
one at a time by Chris Bozung. As such, your CB Instrument can be made to
suit your desires. Please click the links below to see some of
our more popular options.
Last modified: November 28, 2015
