Lot 138: A RUSSIAN VARICOLOR GOLD AND NEPHRITE HAND SEAL, ERIK KOLLIN, ST. PETERSBURG, CIRCA 1899-1901

A RUSSIAN VARICOLOR GOLD AND NEPHRITE HAND SEAL, ERIK KOLLIN, ST. PETERSBURG, CIRCA 1899-1901 the egg-shaped handle of nephrite, the top mounted with a diamond, the reeded base tapering, the foot four-sided and with a laurel leaf border marked with workmaster's initials and with 56 standard. The white agate matrix cut with an anchor. height 1 1/2 in. 3.8 cm Erik Kollin, St. Petersburg

Erik August Kollin (1836-1901) served as a journeyman in the atelier of August Holmström, Gustav Fabergé's chief jeweler, from 1858 to 1868. In 1870 he simultaneously began work for Peter Carl Fabergé and opened his own studio at no. 9 on St. Petersburg's Kazanskaya Street. It is generally agreed that he served as Fabergé's chief workmaster until 1885 or 1886, when he shifted his attentions to his own, private workshop, although he continued to be an occasional supplier to the Fabergé firm. See Géza von Habsburg, et al, Fabergé: Imperial Craftsman and His World, London, 2000, pp. 150-151.

Collection of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, by tradition
A la Vieille Russie, New York