Imperial Russia The Kulm Cross:

[joe campbell]

greetings!

i have apparently been a very good boy this year,

as santa (my mentor) sent this to me for Christmas!!

this is an imperial russian guards regimental

commemorative cross, one of perhaps 8 or 9

regiments involved in the support of prussian

troops at the battle of kulm in 1813 which later

designed commemoratives.

this one is for the Fleet of the Imperial Guard and

was instituted feb 8, 1910. it is a screwback with a

retaining plate, both marked in cyrillic(?) characters.

its basis in the eiserne kreuz is obvious, so it is my

russiangerman iron cross.

if anyone can help with the characters on the

reverse, it would be greatly appreciated. also,

the only reference i have is VE Bowen's monograph,

in which it is mentioned in passing. any russian

references would be appreciated.

i have NO IDEA as to numbers made, scarcity, etc.

your input is appreciated!

Merry Christmas!

joe

[joe campbell]

the reverse.

[Bob Hunter]

Good on ya, Joe! Your season is off to a fine start and Santa hasn't even hit your chimney!

[Guest Rick Research]

The flat back plate is marked " Yeduard' " for the famous jeweller and Orders maker.

But the screw disk is a Soviet one, marked " Z (abo) -d Pobeda Moskva " for the F(actor)y 'Victory' Moscow.

[GeorgeCL]

Hi Joe,

As Rick states, The maker of the backing plate is Eduard.

And mismatched with a later screw nut..

Can you post a reverse of the badge itself?

Thanks

George

[Daniel Murphy]

Joe,

Super nice piece. I have only seen a couple real ones of different types before. I have to say this one has them beat. Beauty, simplicity and quality all in one piece.

Dan Murphy

[joe campbell]

thank you, dan!

and thanks for the info on the screw and the

jeweller.

here are the pix of the reverse.

joe

[joe campbell]

it would appear that nicholas' cypher was attached

through one set of drilled holes, and that perhaps there

was a "generic" cross which could be used for any of the

specific regiments.

why?

i would think the unused set of holes on the 3 and 9

arms would be for one of the other regiments.

hope you likee!

joe

[joe campbell]

what - if anything - should i do about the

green schleck??? (yeah, i know --- verdigris....)

technical information appreciated!

joe

[Daniel Murphy]

Joe,

Verdigris is a form of corrosion that acts slowly, probably over decades. It is usually seen when metals such as copper, brass or even silver come into contact for prolonged periods with other objects that hold moisture, such as leather, cloth etc. The only thing I have ever done is used a stiff bristled toothbrush on it. That is usually enough to remove it and will not harm the patina on the rest of the piece. If that does not work, you will have to decide how much you like the almost hundred years of patina on the back, because anything stronger will surely remove it in that area. If you ever have any duplicates you want to get rid of, I would love to have one to display with my baby (seen at left).

Dan Murphy

[joe campbell]

dan-

thanks for your input. i was considering

something along the same lines, and will

probably do it as it is on the reverse

and preservational in nature.

could you post a larger reverse and obverse of yours?

merry christmas to you and all!

joe

[Gerd Becker]

What a fantastic example I have NEVER seen one before

Gerd

[GeorgeCL]

Great piece. I dont see any problems with it.

The cross itself is unique to the Kulm cross.

I have seen different Reg. examples with the extra holes..

I think these were drilled and used to sew the cross to the uniform,

This would keep it from spinning in the Hole..

George

[Daniel Murphy]

Joe,

Since you asked, I never get tired of showing off this beauty. I feel this is the most fantastic piece in my collection and I am truly appreciative that I am allowed to own it and share it with you. I have shown it to a few gentlemen and I understand it is Russian jeweler made c.1830.

Dan Murphy

Edited December 25, 2005 by Daniel Murphy

[Daniel Murphy]

The reverse. This was made using two sets of handmade and hand engraved dies. The first set formed the center design on the sheet of silver and the second set formed the raised edge. There appears to be some silver solder in the outside corners where the metal may have split in the second die.

Dan Murphy

Edited December 25, 2005 by Daniel Murphy

[Daniel Murphy]

Here is a close up of the maker marks. They are so tiny, I did not realize they were there for several years. I cannot make them out and have never bought a microscope. I am very hesitant to send this to anyone for fear it will get lost in the mail.

Dan Murphy

[joe campbell]

dan-

i have to agree!

i could look at this piece

ALL DAY LONG!!

several thoughts...

first, the mounting loops are quite reminiscent

of the earliest method used in the 1813 crosses.

while i doubt there was a whole lot of chatter

between the prussian and russian jewellers,

perhaps this was inspired by the russian maker

seeing some of the early EK's with either one

or two loops per arm, and his "using the technology".

second, from the reverse, one can imagine the

design and manufacturing techniques along

a continuum. especially with the trough-like

appearance of the outer flange.

an extremely interesting piece you have, and

certainly deserving of the attention!

my thanks!

joe

[Pete A]

Dan (and others),

there is a similar Guards Equipage badge for sale at the next Dmitry Markov auction, lot 2204 (www.russian-medals.net, the on-line catalogue doesn't seem to work with firefox though). Not to mention all those other imperial russian goodies..

Pete

[joe campbell]

gentlemen-

i am not having much luck getting information

on availabilty/value for this piece on the limited number

of sites i've found with imperial russian material.

could i impose on "a little help from my friends"???

my thanks in advance!

joe