Custom Prop

Date Added: Tuesday 03 April, 2018

by Colin M.

This custom prop is a work of superior craftsmanship. From the leather cover, to each minute detail, the book looks as if it were a product of antiquity. The design came about some years ago as I was inspired to find the Aramaic/Latin script used in Mel Gibson's film, the Passion of the Christ. Upon not having any luck, I decided to go about reconstructing the passion narrative from each of the four gospels using the original texts, in Syriac, Greek and Latin. At the time, it was just a fun project/hobby to work on that I had thought would take only a brief amount of time, when in reality, the project spanned a few years.
When I had finally had the text complete, I began to look for the designer/custom prop maker, who would be interested in helping me put my vision together. Naturally being a huge fan of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings adaptations, I stumbled across Magnoli props when I saw Indy's reproduction of the Red Book of Westmarch. I was so impressed with the level of detail and the design of the book, and I knew Indy would be a great choice to collaborate with. As I wanted this book to be something special to cherish for years to come, I began looking at designs and art of different bibles and holy books that had been made over the years. One image that caught my eye was the book of the gospels featured in the icon of Christ Pantocrator Sinai. Because the story of the passion encapsulates the gospel message, I thought that the design would be best.
Indy and his team provided a great customer service experience and I really enjoyed working with him throughout the process. I would receive emails from him and his assistant Kolbe frequently to give me updates on the book's status, and go over various detailed aspects of the book's cover and design. They were kind enough to send pictures of fabric and pearl samples and mock up images of the book as it went through its many stages before the finished product. They were committed to making sure they reproduced the exact design that I wanted and made sure that I approved of every detail.
When the book arrived, and I saw it for the very first time, it surpassed my expectations. The book looked as if it were right out of the icon. The level of detail was superb. Blue tile and white freshwater pearls were set and sewn into the leather to create the cover's design. The design of the spine is also incredible. The biding is very firm and sturdy for such a large book (500 + pages) and inside each page is aged to give it that old manuscript look. Words alone do not do this book justice. I am so glad I was able to work with Indy and his team on such a great project. Thank you very much for helping to make my idea a reality.

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]

Write Review Back

Product Info