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MILLON

689 - RARE FLAG OF THE TURKESTAN ENGINEERS’ BATTALION, PRESENTED I…
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Estimate €30,000 - €50,000
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Description
RARE FLAG OF THE TURKESTAN ENGINEERS’ BATTALION, PRESENTED IN 1899 A flag of the 1883 model with a brown border; the obverse features a polychrome design depicting Saint Joseph the Hymnographer (Иосиф Песнописец) and Saint George the Silent One (Георгий Безмолвник), with inscriptions in Cyrillic in gold lettering; the reverse is embroidered with the monogram of Tsar Nicholas II in silver thread, framed by crowned double-headed eagles of the Russian Empire in brown and embroidered with multicoloured thread. In good overall condition, with some stains and creases. Russia, circa 1899. H. 107.5 x W. 138 cm. History This flag, which bears no distinguishing inscription, is simply adorned with the two Orthodox patron saints corresponding to the battalion’s feast day, 4 April, and was presented to the Turkestan Sappers Battalion by imperial decree on 29 May 1899 (Julian calendar). This date forms part of a wide-ranging series of flag grants decided upon by Nicholas II for units newly created or reorganised in the late 1890s. The Turkestan Sappers Battalion received its flag on the same day as several other engineering battalions and reserve units. This battalion, formed on 26 November 1898, had evolved from a half-battalion of Turkish sappers comprising three sappers and a company of military telegraph operators. This half-battalion had itself been formed in 1878 from the Turkish Sappers Company, which had been established in 1865 within the former Combined Sappers Brigade under the name Orenburg Sappers Company, from members of various sapper units, and subsequently renamed the Turkish Sapper Company in 1867. It became the “1st Turkestan Sapper Battalion” (1-й Туркестанский Саперный баталъон) on 25 March 1910, following the formation of a 2nd Battalion on the same date, formerly the “Transcaspian Sappers’ Battalion”. On 30 April 1911, it was issued with shoulder straps and epaulettes marked ‘1 Т’ beneath the sappers’ symbol (a crossed spade and pickaxe). In 1912, during the summer manoeuvres, under the influence of socialist activists, more than 200 soldiers from the battalion mutinied. They wounded several people and killed three officers and two soldiers. The mutiny was punished very severely. Based in Tashkent, the battalion was sent to the North-Western Front at the start of the First World War, then in 1916 to the Western Front with the Special Army (Особая армия), composed largely of the Imperial Guard. In early 1917, the battalion became the ‘1st Turkestan Engineers’ Regiment’. On 4 March 1917, following the abdication of Nicholas II and the temporary renunciation of the Grand Duke Michael, and although the monarchy had not yet been abolished, all units were ordered to send their emblems to Petrograd so that Nicholas II’s monogram could be removed. Several refused to comply, including the Sappers (Engineers) of Turkestan, as the reverse side of our flag still bore the monogram of the last Tsar of Russia. Related work The design that served as the model for our flag, featuring the battalion’s two patron saints, is preserved at the Hermitage Museum in an album (see illustration).
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About the sale Russian Art – Mr G’s Collection – Part 3
Auction location
Auction time 09/18/2026 at 11:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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