Miniature work adorns many of the treasures at Sinai, including ecclesiastical works in metal, tiny wood carvings, and objects executed with gold embroidery. These may exist in their own right, or may exist in combination of any of the above materials.
Some of these were votive offerings of important rulers or noblemen, or religious leaders or monastics. Others were gifts of families, or of various towns.
These were made in various workshops, and whether executed in Europe, in Russia, or in one of the provinces of the Ottoman Empire, they all reflect the radiance of Sinai and the devotion in which Saint Catherine and her holy monastery were held. These offerings have been preserved at Sinai, often in the midst of great difficulties, because of their intrinsic significance as emblems of artistic and spiritual significance, and ultimately, of faith.