Pectoral icon depicting the Holy Elect, 18th century

Bronze casting

Height × Width: 5 × 5 cm Weight: 44.2 g.

This object belongs to the group of Russian Old Believers’ icons, mass-produced from the 17th century onward and characterized by a strict adherence to the canons of Byzantine tradition. These artifacts, often made of bronze and sometimes enriched with colored enamels, were generally small in size and 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, following the schism known as the Raskol, endured periods of persecution by the official Russian Orthodox Church. The surface appears worn because metal icons, being prone to oxidation, were regularly polished with cloths and substances such as chalk, sand, ash, or brick dust, since within the context of the Old Believers, tarnish (oxidation or darkening) was considered a sign of corruption.