Pectoral icon depicting Saints Boris and Gleb - 19th century

Height × Width: 14 × 9 cm Weight: 157 g.
Bronze casting
Among the first saints canonized in Kievan Rus’, they are venerated as martyrs of the faith and protectors of the Russian land. They were brothers, sons of Grand Prince Vladimir I of Kiev (who converted Rus’ to Christianity) and Anna Porphyrogenita. After their father’s death in 1015, they were murdered by their elder half-brother, Sviatopolk the Accursed, who sought to eliminate his rivals for the throne of Kiev. Although they were military commanders, often depicted on horseback, they chose not to take up arms, accepting death in imitation of Christ’s sacrifice. They therefore belong to a category of saints typical of the Russian tradition, the strastoterptsy (“passion-bearers”). They are not martyrs in the classical sense (killed out of hatred for the faith), but Christian witnesses who accept unjust death with humility and a spirit of non-violence.Above the two saints, within a clipeus, appears the depiction of the Old Testament Trinity, which blesses their sacrifice. At the top of the composition, on the small hinged tab that protects the suspension hole, is engraved the Mandylion of Edessa—the acheiropoietos face of Christ—which seals the entire plaque as a mark of authenticity and divine protection.Moreover, this icon belongs to the group of Russian Old Believer icons, mass-produced from the 17th century onward and characterized by strict adherence to the canons of the Byzantine tradition. Such artifacts, 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 conceal, 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.



Item condition grading: **** good.
The icon is in a good state of preservation with the normal wear and defects commensurate with its age and use over time.