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MILLON

703 - A rare 1806-model St George’s standard finial, in gilded bro…
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Estimate €3,000 - €5,000
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Description
A rare 1806-model St George’s standard finial, in gilded bronze. Shaped like an openwork teardrop, centred on a polychrome-painted cross of the Order of St George with a red centre, set within a chiselled laurel wreath, surmounting a ribboned scroll engraved with the inscription in Cyrillic: “Лейбъ Гвардіи Гусарскаго / полка 3-го Эскадрона / Декабря 1830 года” (“Of the Guard Hussars’ Regiment, 3rd Squadron, December 1830”). Long, bevelled sleeve, pierced at the bottom. In good overall condition, with possible paint restoration. Russia, first third of the 19th century. H. 26.5 cm. History By 1830, the Guard Hussars’ Regiment already possessed a St George’s Standard, granted by decree of Tsar Alexander I on 13 April 1813, in recognition of the 1812–1814 campaign, bearing the inscription ‘За отличие при поражении и изгнании неприятеля из пределов России 1812 г.’ (‘For distinction in defeating and expelling the enemy from the borders of Russia in 1812’). Our standard finial can be seen on Gönikberg’s reconstruction of this standard (Fig. 1). In December 1830, the regiment was mobilised to march against the Polish insurgents. Following the fighting in 1831, the regiment received 23 St George’s trumpets bearing the inscription ‘For Warsaw, 25 and 26 August 1831’ (“For Warsaw, 25 and 26 August 1831”), awarded on 6 December 1831. However, its St George’s standard remained the one obtained from 1813 onwards, to which jubilee distinctions would later be added. However, six months before our pennant tip was engraved, on 5 (17) August 1830, a new type of pennant tip was adopted for the flags and standards of the Guard, in the form of a double-headed eagle resting on a sphere. As for the St George’s emblems, the cross was henceforth to be suspended beneath the finial by a short St George’s ribbon. This change was even to be applied to flags that had already been issued. It is therefore likely that our example of the old model was decommissioned in December 1830 during the transition to the second model featuring the eagle, and that it was then inscribed with the name of its last custodian unit. The new flag tip of the Hussars of the Guard regiment (without specification of the squadron), of the 1830 model, is currently preserved at the Museum of the Cossacks of the Imperial Guard in Courbevoie, on loan to the National Museum of the Legion of Honour (ill. 2). From 28 May (9 June) 1868, only the standard of the 1st Squadron was used for the entire regiment; the other two standards were deposited at the headquarters of the Don Army in Novocherkassk. On 6 (18) April 1875, a new type of St George’s standard was adopted for the Guard units. The regiment therefore received only a single new jubilee St George’s standard (1875 model), the old standard being kept in the regimental chapel. During the February Revolution of 1917, the officers dismantled and removed all the items from the chapel and the hall of honour. Thus, almost all of the regiment’s historical relics and precious objects were saved from certain destruction, unlike the fate suffered by other regiments. Taken to safety in the Don region during the Civil War, this treasure was sent to Constantinople in 1919, then to Serbia until 1928, before arriving in France in 1929. Related item A tip of the same design is held at the State Historical Museum in Moscow (ill. 3).
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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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