imperial russia St. Stanislaus eagle evolution?

[Mark McM]

Hi all,

From my observations, eagles on the St. Stanislaus order seem to have undergone a style change sometime around 1850.  Does anyone have details concerning the change?  

Old (?) style: 

 

"new" style : 

Edited December 4, 2016 by TacHel

[paul wood]

The change seems to have taken place at the end of the Crimean War, possibly with the accession of Alexander II, as I encountered a 'touching eagles' second class badge dated 1855 which as far as I am aware the latest date of that type recorded. I have also seen a later type Stanislaus dated 1858.

Paul

 

[Mark McM]

Thanks, Paul!  That narrows it down nicely!  Here's the example I recently added...   

[paul wood]

Lovely, do you have a maker's mark or date?

Paul

 

[Mark McM]

Paul,

... the ring is marked 583 w/ St Petersburg city mark.  The makers mark is under the enamel on the bottom arm of the cross, between the eagle wings.  It's difficult to fully make out, but it appears to be WK (Wilhelm Keibel?).  There is also a large double headed eagle mark under the enamel on the upper arm of the cross, also between the eagle wings.  I've seen the double headed eagle mark on other pieces made by Keibel, but I'm not sure if this is unique.  

reverse is also quite impressive...

[paul wood]

Wilhelm Keibel was the sole official maker of Russian Orders between 1841 when his partnership with Kammerer ended until his death in 1862, I am wondering if the 583 number is in fact 853 which would be a date mark for 1853 which would fit in perfectly with the WK mark,

Paul

[Mark McM]

583 is the purity mark for 14k gold

[Mark McM]

update:  after looking at the number on the ring under high magnification, what I thought was a 583 seems more like a 183 (the left-most digit is considerably worn away from being in contact with the jump ring).  There also appears to be the top part of another digit to the right of the 3, making a date more plausible.  

[Mark McM]

close up...

 

Edited December 2, 2016 by Mark McM

[paul wood]

Mark

It's definitely a date mark. It has to be I85, if it were 183 then would be a KK piece, for gold purity on Russian Order it is either 56  (for 56 zolotniki =14 carat) or 72 (for 72 zolotniki=18 carat)

Paul

[Mark McM]

Hi Paul,

it's very clearly a 3.  I have it under the microscopes here at work and there's no question about it.  

maybe you can make this hallmark out?

I'll try to get a picture of the date mark, but I'm nearing the limits of my photographic capabilities! 

 

[Mark McM]

still catching reflections off the right due to lighting, but not bad for holding the iPad up to one of the microscope lenses...  

 

 

[paul wood]

The first character on the hallmark appears to be an M the other ?, there was and MK who was an assayer in St Petersburg between 1825 and 1838 if that is any help.

Paul

[Mark McM]

Hi Paul,

Thanks!  The left character could be a K... or it could be an M.  Maddening.  The right hand character is really tough to figure.  There's a large double headed eagle marked under the enamel on the upper arm of the cross...

 

 

[paul wood]

Mark that is extremely helpful, the eagle in the enamel is the Imperial warrant which means it has to have been made by the official maker, given the date it has to be KK for Kammerer and Keibel.

All the best,

Paul

 

 

[Egorka]

On 12/1/2016 at 22:45, Mark McM said:

Hi all,

From my observations, eagles on the St. Stanislaus order seem to have undergone a style change sometime around 1850.  Does anyone have details concerning the change?  

Hello Mark,

There was heraldry reform finalized in April 1857, which among other things lead to changes in the lesser coat of arms of Russian Empier. That what you see. Some of the main changes are the shape of the eagle wings and St.George changed orientation from "riding right" to "riding left".

Edited December 5, 2016 by Egorka

[Egorka]

Lesser coat of arms 1830 

Lesser coat of arms after 1856

[Mark McM]

5 hours ago, Egorka said:

Lesser coat of arms 1830 

Lesser coat of arms after 1856

Thanks, Egorka!  Fascinating pieces of information! 

9 hours ago, paul wood said:

Mark that is extremely helpful, the eagle in the enamel is the Imperial warrant which means it has to have been made by the official maker, given the date it has to be KK for Kammerer and Keibel.

All the best,

Paul

 

 

Thanks Paul!  Awesome news!