19th Century Russian Old Believer Travel Icon
Metal icons were used mainly by the Old Believers, a sect of Russian Orthodox Christians who broke away from the main church because of unacceptable reforms put into place by the patriarch Nikon in the 1650's. As a result, they were persecuted and fled into the wildernesses to escape, starting their own monasteries and skites, from the17th Century through19th centuries. In 1723, Peter the Great declared an ukaz prohibiting the casting of metal icons. Despite the ban, icons continued to be produced in small monastery workshops and used for personal devotional practice in a variety of ways. The earlier ones were worn around the neck as amulets. They were used as portable travel icons, fastened to the gates of houses or grave crosses, wrapped in cloth and put into graves of loved ones. Those depicting patron saints were often given to soldiers and travelers for protection. The migration of the Old Believers was at its height in the nineteenth century, when persecution was particularly fierce during the reign of Tsar Nikolai I (1825-1855), thus moving further into Siberia, other remote areas and beyond the borders of Russia including Asia, Europe and Russian America (present-day Alaska). Current Old Believer communities in the United States have settled mainly in the states of Oregon and Alaska.
This 19th century travel icon depicts the Ascention of Christ. It is made from bronze and blue enamel. It is 2" x 2 1/4" or 5.2 x 5.7cm.

Item #da13
$360