Russian bronze travel icon depicting the Orthodox cross, 19th century

Height x width x depth: 17.3 x 10.6 x 0.3 cm. Weight: 286 g.

Gilded bronze, it has two cross bars of which the horizontal upper one is longer, while the lower one is inclined diagonally. When Jesus was crucified the lower crossbar was inserted, nailed to the cross, to allow him to rest his feet. It also symbolizes the balance that weighs people's sins and virtues: the upper left end always points upward, toward heaven, as if to symbolize ascension through the Passion, while the right end points downward, indicating the underworld. At the foot is a cave where the skull of Adam, the one who could not enter heaven because of the tree from which he unjustly fed himself, is kept. Christ is the new Adam who leads us to salvation and paradise through the tree personified by the Cross. The background shows the city of Jerusalem to remind us that Jesus was crucified outside the city walls.