Travel icon depicting the Protection of the Veil (Pokrov) of the Mother of God, 19th century

Bronze casting

Height × width: 13 × 7 cm Weight: 80.5 g.

An iconography that finds its origins in 10th-century Constantinople, in the Church of Blachernae, where the precious relic of the Virgin’s mantle was kept. During an invasion (likely by pagan Rus’ or Saracens), the population had gathered in prayer. Saint Andrew the Fool-for-Christ had a vision: he saw the Mother of God enter the church accompanied by angels and saints. She knelt in prayer and then, removing her veil (maphorion) from her head, spread it over the faithful as a sign of protection.The scene is arranged in two superimposed registers. In the lower register, exactly at the center, stands Romanos the Melodist. To his right is Saint Andrew the Fool, depicted pointing upward toward the vision to his disciple Epiphanius; behind him is Empress Zoe Carbonopsina, the fourth wife of Emperor Leo VI the Wise. To the left of Romanos are Patriarch Tarasios of Constantinople, followed by Emperor Leo VI the Wise, identifiable by his royal garments and crown. In the background, the domes and structures of Blachernae are often visible, while the Virgin, flanked by heavenly hosts, dominates the scene. In the upper section is depicted Christ Pantocrator, surmounted by a triad of seraphim.This icon belongs to the group of Russian Old Believers’ icons, mass-produced from the 17th century onward and characterized by strict adherence to the canons of the Byzantine tradition. These objects, 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 hide, 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.