>The tips of the thumb and third finger are touching; the index and second
finger are >held together, upright; and the little finger is held upright
also.
This sounds like a very common gesture found in Byzantine iconography. It
is supposed to be the initials for Jesus Christ in Greek, I X
The index finger is held straight to signify the I, while the the thumb and
third finger cross to signify the X (Often the fingers are not crossed, but
only their tip's touch, it still means the same thing). The second and
fourth finger are superfluos and are generally held up, or are slightly
curved, to stay out of the way.
>So, although the first Renaissance Annunciation I looked at had Gabriel
holding his >little finger down and his thumb rested on his downward held
third finger,
I believe this is called the "Latin benediction" (A different gesture for
this is used in the East), introduced at the Council of Chalcedon, the
index and second finger are held up to signify Christ's two natures, while
the thumb, third and little finger held are down to represent the Trinity.
-Caedmon Greene
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