Russian silver Don Cossack Brigade regimental beaker. Moscow 1839.
Embossed with a reserves depicting a trophy of arms and armor, and another with a monument to Minin and Pozharsky in Moscow against a field of C-scrolls, foliate branches and birds.
Hallmarks: On the bottom: "84" zolotniks (875/1000) silver purity mark, Moscow town mark, maker's mark "A.K," and Assayer's mark of Ivan Dudkin dated 1839.
H: 10.5 cm (4 1/4 in), W: 205.8 gram
Condition: Very minor cosmetic scratches, otherwise superb original condition, no problems of any kind.
Provenance: Freemans Auctions, Oct. 2009
Monument to Minin and Pozharsky is a bronze statue on Red Square of Moscow right in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral. The statue commemorates prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, who gathered the all-Russian volunteer army and expelled the Poles from the Moscow Kremlin, thus putting an end to the Time of Troubles in 1612. The monument was conceived to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the events. The competition of projects was won by the celebrated sculptor Ivan Martos in 1808. In the wake of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, the monument could not be unveiled until 1818. The construction was funded by public conscription in Nizhny Novgorod, the city whence Minin and Pozharsky came to save Moscow. The tsar Alexander I, however, opted for the monument to be located on Red Square of Moscow rather than in Nizhny Novgorod.
This item as shown in Freemans Auctions, October 2009, auction catalog
