Travel Icon Depicting the Virgin Paraklesis, 19th century

Bronze casting with polychrome enamels

Height × Width: 13 × 11 cm Weight: 421.6 g.

This icon belongs to the group of Russian Old Believer icons, produced in series from the 17th century onwards and characterised by a strict adherence to the canons of Byzantine tradition. Such objects, often made of bronze and sometimes enriched with coloured enamels, were generally small in size and intended for private devotion. Their portability allowed them to be easily carried and, when necessary, concealed, thus responding to the religious needs of a community that, after the schism known as the *Raskol*, endured periods of persecution by the official Russian Orthodox Church. The icon depicts the Virgin Paraklesis in half-length form, slightly turned in three-quarter view, holding an open scroll bearing a prayer. The Paraklesis type reflects the practice of supplication to the Virgin, invoked for protection, healing, or spiritual assistance. The surface appears particularly polished in the most prominent areas. This aspect is likely connected to the maintenance practices of the Old Believers, who regarded the darkening of metal (tarnish) as a sign of corruption and tended to clean their icons frequently with cloths coated with chalk, sand, ash, or brick dust. These traces of wear lend the work a particular historical and material value, as they bear witness to the devotional use of the object and to the long relationship between the sacred image and the faithful who preserved and venerated it over time.