Crucifixion icon with silver oklad. Moscow, 1853. Embossed and engraved silver oklad. At the foot of the Cross, three circular medallions with the Virgin, Saint John the Theologian and Saint Barbara. An inscription on the back in black ink with a few gaps: "1852 го Года Марта 12 го / видѣлъ во [снѣ] что Маминька Княгиня Александра Петровна благославила насъ / точно такой иконою сказавъ теперь / [Божѣ] милостию будутъ у васъ дѣти, [всѣ] живы и здоровы. / Графъ Михаилъ Владимировичъ / Толстой" ("March 12, 1952 / I saw in [dream] that little Mama Princess Alexandra Petrovna blessed us / exactly with such an icon saying that now / by the Grace [of God] you will have children [all] alive and healthy./ Count Mikhail Vladimirovich / Tolstoy"). Hallmarks: 84, Moscow 1853, assayer "В-С" (Victor Vasilyevich Savinsky) and silversmith "ДА" (Dmitry Alexandrov). 22 x 16.7 cm; gross weight: 594 g Count Mikhail Vladimirovich Tolstoy (1812-1896), Church historian and hagiographer, married Princess Elizaveta Petrovna Volkonskaya (1823-1881) in 1850, daughter of Prince Petr Sergeevich Volkonsky and Princess Alexandra Petrovna (née Novikova), who was therefore Count Tolstoy's mother-in-law, mentioned in this inscription. The inscription must have been written at the earliest in 1872 (death of Princess Volkonskaya) and probably even after 1881, death of Countess Tolstoy. There's probably a mistake in the year, which would be 1853 rather than 1852: on December 22, 1852, the Tolstoy couple's first child, Alexandra, died at just a few months old. This explains the meaning of this blessing for the children to come, who will all be alive and well, unlike the first-born. This family icon belonged to Count Alexander Sergeevich Tolstoy (1900-1984), grandson of Count M. V. Tolstoy. [RUSSIAN ART]