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This beautiful Russian Orthodox icon of bronze was found at a Russian trapping station in Nordhamna on Bjørnøya in June 2015. It had been brought there by Russian trappers who stayed through winters in the 18th and 19th centuries to hunt walrus, arctic fox, and polar bear.
The icon was discovered at the trapping cabin’s eastern corner, the place the Russians called the ‘holy corner’ and where they kept their icons.
The icon is called ‘Mother of God, the joy of all who mourn’ and was produced in orthodox monasteries in several parts of Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Mother of God is depicted surrounded by sick, needy people; her resurrected son Jesus appears in the background, crowned with glory. Icons like this one were often taken along on journeys as talismans against disease, for comfort in sorrow, and in the hope that God’s Mother would pray for the traveller should he encounter difficulties.
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