Travel icon depicting the Mother of Consolation - Early 20th century

Height × Width: 6.5 × 5.5 cm Weight: 71.9 g.
Bronze casting with polychrome enamels
The tradition traces the origin of the cult to the miraculous rescue from a shipwreck of Arcadius, attributed to the intervention of the Virgin Mary. At the site where Arcadius was found, on Vatopedi Beach near Mount Athos, Patriarch Nektarios erected a sanctuary and placed the icon of the Otrada, copies of which were painted and sent to Russia.Moreover, this object belongs to the group of icons of the Old Believers, mass-produced from the 17th century onward and characterized by 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 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, endured 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.