Travel icon depicting Saints Quiricus and Julitta, Early 20th century

Bronze casting with polychrome enamels

Height × width: 13 × 9.5 cm Weight: 402.8 g.

Martyrized under Diocletian, accompanied by a series of Selected Saints. In the upper part, Christ emerges from the clouds to watch over the scene. This icon belongs to the group of Russian Old Believer icons, produced in series from the 17th century onward and characterized by a strict adherence to the canons of the 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 allowed them to be easily carried and, if necessary, hidden, thus meeting the religious needs of a community that, after the schism known as the Raskol, underwent periods of persecution by the official Russian Orthodox Church.