Central panel of a travel triptych depicting the Virgin of the Sign, 19th century

Bronze casting and polychrome enamels

Height × width: 9 × 5 cm Weight: 49.7 g

The Mother of God is depicted in an orant posture with her arms raised, while bearing on her chest a clipeus containing Christ Emmanuel, a powerful symbol of the Incarnation of the Word cherished in the tradition of the Old Believers. Above the central panel is a cimasa featuring the depiction of the Old Testament Trinity, symmetrically flanked by two six-winged seraphim; the composition is crowned at the top by the Mandylion of Edessa, the acheiropoietos image of Christ’s face, which seals the entire work as a sign of protection and supreme divine authority. These artifacts, generally small in size, were intended for private devotion. Their portability made them easy to carry and, if necessary, to conceal, thus meeting the religious needs of a community that, after the schism known as the Raskol, experienced periods of persecution by the official Russian Orthodox Church.