3957 | Russian Icon of Martyrs Florus & Laurus

Second half of the 19th century, Syzran, Old Believers Workshop. Egg tempera, gold leaf and gesso on wood. Kovcheg, two splints in the back.

Condition: excellent, no restoration

Size: 10 1/2 x 8 1/2 in (27 x 22 cm)

Note: Saints Florus and Laurus are venerated as Christian martyrs of the 2nd century. According to a Greek tale, they were twin brothers who worked as stonemasons on a pagan temple. They turned the temple over to Christians and were drowned as punishment by the Emperor Licinius. The two are the patron saints of horsekeepers.