Travel icon depicting the Protection of the Veil (Pokrov) of the Mother of God, Early 20th century

Bronze casting

Height × Width: 19.5 × 11 cm Weight: 3268.1 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 preserved. During an invasion (probably by pagan Rus’ or Saracens), the population 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-for-Christ, depicted pointing upward to the vision to his disciple Epiphanius. To the left of Romanos are Patriarch Tarasios of Constantinople, followed by Emperor Leo VI the Wise, identifiable by his royal garments and crown; behind them, shown in perspective beneath a small aedicule, appears Empress Zoe Carbonopsina, the fourth wife of Emperor Leo VI the Wise.In the background, the domes and structures of the Blachernae complex are often visible, while the Virgin, flanked by the heavenly hosts, dominates the scene. In the upper section (cimasa), the Trinity is depicted, with God the Father and Jesus Christ seated on a throne holding the globe of the world, while above them descends the dove of the Holy Spirit. A host of seraphim crowns the composition at the top.This icon belongs to the group of Russian Old Believer icons, mass-produced from the 17th century onward and characterized by a strict adherence to the canons of 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 allowed them to be easily carried and, if necessary, concealed, thus meeting the religious needs of a community that, following the schism known as the Raskol, underwent periods of persecution by the official Russian Orthodox Church.