Lot 560: A FABERGÉ GOLD AND ENAMEL COMMEMORATIVE BADGE, WORKMASTER ERIK KOLLIN, ST PETERSBURG, 1879

A FABERGÉ GOLD AND ENAMEL COMMEMORATIVE BADGE, WORKMASTER ERIK KOLLIN, ST PETERSBURG, 1879 oval, surmounted with cogwheel and crossed hammer and compass, the front enamelled in transculent white over wavy engine-turning and applied with a cast and chased steam locomotive within a blue opaque border inscribed in Cyrillic: 'Long Live the Russian Forces. In Honour of the 500th Steam Locomotive', the reverse in yellow opaque enamel centered with dedication: 'To Samuel Solomonovich Polyakov' within blue border inscribed: ' E.Struve A. Struve A.V. Lessing/ Kolomna' machine works , struck with workmaster's initials, 56 standard height including suspension loop: 6cm, 2 3/8 in.

In the second half of the 19th century, Kolomna machine works became one of the main symbols of fast-growing railway transport in the Russian Empire. The founding of the machine works in 1863 was prompted by the contruction of the Moscow-Saratov railway when a military engineer Amand Struve (1835-1898), who was overseeing this part of the construction proposed to set up a temporary machine works on the left bank of the river Oka. Locomotive production at Kolomna machine works dates back to 1869 and was one of the few locomotive producers in pre-Revolutionary Russia.
The year 1879 was marked by the celebration of the production of the 500th locomotive. To commemorate this event, medals and badges depicting the locomotive and inscribed '500' were coined and presented to the directors and prominent workers including Samuel Polyakov (1837-1888), who made his fortune in the construction of railways in Russia.