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Travel icon depicting Saint George, 19th century

Bronze casting with polychrome enamels

Height × width: 11.5 × 10 cm. Weight: 454.1 g.

According to traditional canon, Saint George is depicted as a young mounted warrior, wrapped in a red cloak symbolizing his martyrdom, billowing in the wind. At the horse’s feet, a serpentine creature represents evil or defeated paganism. The composition is enriched by a devotional border in which additional saints appear surrounding the central scene, following typical schemes of Russian iconographic tradition. A particularly significant element, useful for situating the work within the context of the Old Believers, is the presence of the Hand of God emerging from the upper right corner to bless Saint George. In Old Believers’ icons, the divine hand is depicted with two extended fingers, symbolizing the dual nature of Christ, in opposition to the Trinitarian gesture introduced by the patriarchal reforms. The central scene of Saint George is also accompanied by the presence of the Mandylion of Edessa, placed according to a devotional scheme that emphasizes the Christological dimension of the image and its salvific function. Around the main composition, additional saints are arranged as intercessory figures, expanding the theological and liturgical meaning of the whole. In line with the tradition of the Old Believers, such icons are generally small in size and intended for private devotion. Their portability allowed them to be easily carried and, when necessary, concealed, 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.