84 zolotniki (875 standard), unidentified maker's mark 'MN', St Petersburg, circa 1890
Rectangular with rounded sides, a tinder cord compartment and match strike to one side, the exterior reeded all round, the cover with applied grand ducal patronymic initials of Nikolai Nikolaeivch beneath an an applied 14ct gold oval plaque modelled in relief with the grand ducal crown and set with a single diamond to its centre, the interior gilt, the underside of the cover engraved 'From His Imperial Highness, The Sovereign Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich the Elder to Captain Aleksei Iosifovich Morachevich 29 August 1890, Warsaw'
9cm high, 5.5cm wide, 1.5cm deep, 152g in total
Estimate $1,000 - $1,500
Eric Dare, Melbourne
Leonard Joel, Melbourne, 6 December 2012, lot 2510A, purchased by the vendor
Alexei Iosifovich Morachevich (d. 1919), to whom this case was presented, was a Montenegrin-born officer in Imperial Russian service who subsequently rose to the rank of General. By 1892 he was serving as a Staff-Captain and Pristav of the Warsaw Executive Police in the 9th Lazienki District; by 1903 he was a Lieutenant-Colonel serving as a staff officer for special assignments to the St Petersburg City Governor, and by 1907 he was a Colonel.
In 1912, now a widower, he married the considerably younger Maria Nikolaevna Birina in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. Maria was highly educated and musical; having studied at the Moscow Conservatory, she subsequently studied singing in Paris. Following the Revolution the couple moved to Armavir where Alexei Iosifovich died on 10 September, 1919, reportedly of a heart attack. Maria survived him by forty years and died in Nizhny Novgorod in 1959.
There were close ties between Montenegro and Imperial Russia, particularly in military and dynastic circles. Montenegrin officers could receive training, commissions and patronage in Russia.
Decorative Arts
AUCTION
Sale: LJ8826
6:00pm - 16 November 2026
Hawthorn
VIEWING
Fri 13 - Sun 15 November, 11am - 5pm
2 Oxley Rd, Hawthorn VIC
CONTACT
Chiara Curcio
decorativearts@leonardjoel.com.au
SIMILAR ITEMS
Lot 178
A LARGE ANTIQUE SWISS INTERCHANGABLE CYLINDER ORCHESTRA MUSIC BOX ON STAND Circa 1880, serial no. 6854, retailed by Maple & Co., London
Estimate: $25,000-35,000
Lot 119
ELIZABETH COOK'S STERLING SILVER TEA CANISTER, ENGRAVED WITH THE CREST OF HER HUSBAND, CAPTAIN JAMES COOK Thomas Daniell, London, 1786
Estimate: $20,000-30,000
Lot 65
A COMPOSITE STERLING SILVER 'ALBERT' PATTERN FLATWARE SERVICE Various English makers and mostly 19th century dates, the knives later.
Estimate: $12,000-15,000
Lot 129
A RARE OAK MELBOURNE STOCK EXCHANGE MEMBER'S CHAIR WITH INTEGRAL CLERK'S DESK Circa 1890
Estimate: $10,000-14,000