The copper plaque icon “Joy of All Who Sorrow” was cast in the 18th or 19th century. This small Orthodox amulet icon of the Mother of God was made with a convex edging and a rectangular top. The craftsman executed a bas-relief image.

The icon was encased with a protruding frame, which formed a kovcheg (ark), that is, a deepened middle field. In the center, the craftsman created a full-length image of the Mother of God, in a three-quarter turn to the left, with a staff in Her right hand. Such a thin staff — a yardstick or measuring stick — is present on many icons in the Russian (Byzantine) tradition of icon painting.

With her left hand, the Mother of God blesses the suffering ones with a cross. To the left and right of her praying people are placed, suffering from various ailments and everyday sorrows. Near the people, the artist depicted angels who point them to the Mother of God.

At the top, at the level of the head of the Mother of God, one can distinguish scrolls with inscriptions, the text of the prayer. In the background, on the left and right, there are blossoming trees. At the top there is an image of the Saviour Not Made by Hands. An eyelet with a threaded copper ring was made on the back of the top part. The metal of the plaque icon darkened over time, became covered with patina, and the edging in the upper left corner deformed. The reverse side has a smooth surface.

The Mother of God was the dearest of all saints to the Russian Orthodox people. Hundreds of Her iconographic types are known, each of which originated from a specific miraculous icon and had several varieties. Not all of them were found in the objects of Old Believer coppersmiths. Some images were not created due to the fact that they were little known in Russia, for example, Nursing Madonna, Jerusalem, and Blachernae Mother of God.

Some of the images were very similar to each other, for example Smolenskaya, Iverskaya, and She Who is Quick to Hear. The most common Theotokos plot made in casting technique was “Joy of All Who Sorrow.” Perhaps this was due to the fact that this icon was one of the last miraculous icons glorified in Russia before the splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century. This plot is found both in small plaques and in fairly large castings that had a dome-shaped cover, sometimes framed by cherubs.