Travel icon depicting Saints Zosima and Savvaty, 19th century

Bronze casting with polychrome enamels

Dimensions: Height × width: 12 × 8 cm Weight: 156.9 g.

the saints are depicted holding a model of the Solovki Monastery, an iconographic attribute that identifies them as its founders and protectors of the monastic community. This representation emphasizes their spiritual connection with the renowned religious center on the White Sea and highlights the devotional function of the icon. This object also belongs to the group of Russian Old Believer icons, produced in series from the 17th century onwards and characterized by a strict adherence to the canons of Byzantine tradition. These objects, often made of cast bronze and sometimes enriched with polychrome enamels, were 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, experienced periods of persecution by the official Russian Orthodox Church.