Russian Icon Depicting the Protection of the Mother of God, Based

A crowd of saints gathers beneath an outspread veil, and nobody is left out.

This icon depicting the Protection of the Mother of God comes from Russia, dates to the 16th century and is cast in bronze, mounted on a base. The Protection, or Pokrov, is a major Orthodox feast, generally recalling a vision of the Virgin spreading her veil over the faithful. Here she stands at the center beneath the domes of a church, attended by saints holding the veil, with tiers of haloed figures crowded below and at the sides. A round medallion of figures and a small framed image rise above. It is 7.5 inches high, with the image 3 wide.

Small enough to carry, large enough to shelter a crowd.