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Crown for Icon of our Lady of Tolog
Russia, 19th Century
Cut and uncut diamonds (.4 carats), spphire (6.0 carats), rubies (.7 carats), topaz, coral, pearls, semi-precious stones, glass, gilt thread, silver
14 1/4 x 14 7/8 in (36.2 x 37.7 cm)
From the Church of the Saviour and Christ's Transfiguration, Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl State Museum-Preserve
Inv. No. YMZ-7899

Our Lady of the Tolga (Tolog) has a special importance to the city of Yaroslavl, which was the center of a famous school of icon painting. It was painted for the Tolgsky Monastery in Yaroslavl in 1314 and shows the Mother of God and Christ in a pose known in Russia as "Umilenie" - or Tenderness - which finds its prototype in the Virgin of Vladimir. In the icon of Our Lady of Tolga she holds the face of her Son tightly to her own and looks at the spectator with a mixture of love and intense sadness. This icon was reproduced frequently in Yaroslavl.