Imperial Yacht "Standard" Jetton/Жетон капитана Яхты "Штандартъ"

Gold. Marked with 56 assay mark and AT for Alfred Thielemann.
Engraved on the other side Captain / S.R. Nevyarovsky / 1907-1912 - Капитан / C.Р. Невяровский /1907-1912

Stanislav Nevyarovsky (1879-1934) served as a captain on the imperial Yacht 'Standard' from 1907 to 1914, which was the favourite ship of Nicholas II and according to contemporaries one of the most beautiful and elegant ships of the time. The Emperor and his family spent every summer on the yacht navigating around the Finnish isles and then going to Crimea at the end of August. Nicholas II appreciated the company of Nevyarovsky and in one of the diaries mentions that in the evenings he often enjoyed playing dice with Nevayrovsky and other members of the crew. In 1917 Nevyarovsky did not return from a business trip to England. In exile he lived in France. Died in Paris.​

 

Two very interesting articles regarding the history of this jetton.

Fabergé Jetton Puzzle
by Galina Korneva and Tatiana Cheboksarova

The holdings of the Chancellery of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna located in the State Historical Archive (RGIA) of St. Petersburg, Russia, include an interesting document relating to a Fabergé commission. The events took place in September 1907, and the badge goes under the name of Standart. Page one of the document reads:

Express Telegram to Fabergé September 18, 1907
HER IMPERIAL MAJESTY ALEXANDRA FEODOROVNA has the benevolence of ordering in HER AUGUST NAME one jetton Standart, delivery without delay, with the Roman numeral ‘X’ and the years ‘1896-1906’ on the verso. On completion the badge shall be delivered to the Chancellery of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (at the Winter Palace). Signed: Prince Putyatin

The authors made the assumption the Empress wished to reward a crew member of the Imperial yacht Standart from the very first days of the yacht’s service, or perhaps someone in charge of building the favorite yacht of the Tsar’s family in 1896 in Copenhagen – then the dates on the jetton mean it was made for the tenth anniversary of the vessel. It is clear also why the telegram was signed by Prince Mikhail Sergeevich Putyatin (1861-1938), since he held the post of staff officer for special missions in the Court Marshal’s Department of the Ministry of the Imperial Court from 1900 to 1911. But the date of September 18th needed more details. From a short article in the newspaper Russkoye Slovo [Russian Word] dated 15th of September 1907, we learned the Imperial yacht Standart had touched ground during the summer cruise in the Finnish archipelago resulting in real trouble:

The work of getting the ship off the bottom was given with Imperial permission to the Revel Rescue Society. The listing of the yacht decreased from 15 to 5 degrees, the stern being two feet higher than the bow, both stokeholds are submerged in spite of being continuously emptied of water. There, however, is no danger that water would penetrate into the Imperial cabins.

From Robert Massie in his book, Nicholas and Alexandra, 1985, p. 160, we learned:

In 1907, the cruise on the Standart ended in near-calamity. The yacht was moving out to sea through a narrow channel while, on deck, the passengers were having afternoon tea. Suddenly, with a shuddering crash, the ship hit a rock. Teacups flew, chairs overturned, the band went sprawling. As water poured into the hull, the ship listed and began to settle. Sirens wailed and life boats were lowered … [Alexandra Feodorovna] bustled back to her stateroom. Stripping sheets from the bed, she tossed jewels, icons and mementoes into a bundle. When She left the yacht, the last woman to depart, She carried this priceless bundle securely in her lap.
From the memoirs of Alexander Mosolov, Pri Dvore Poslednego Imperatora [At the Court of the Last Emperor], 1992, p. 236, this can be added:

The flag-captain in charge of security for Their Majesties was Admiral Nilov … The Emperor came to his cabin without a knock and he saw that Nilov was looking at a map and he had a revolver in his hand. The Tsar was in a hurry to quiet him … The Emperor took the revolver with Him.

Now we will come back to the date in the telegram from the document – it is the 18th of September – only one week after the catastrophe. We dare to suggest that the Empress wanted to reward someone who helped her family escape the tragedy? Maybe it was even flag-captain Konstantin Nilov? The wish of the Empress to take immediate delivery of the jetton was taken by Fabergé as a ‘command’, since the item was delivered to the Chancellery of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna already on the 29th of September. Here the head of the chancellery Count Yakov Nikolaevich Rostovtsev (1863-?) set out to make immediate plans to deliver the jetton to Finland. Princess Putyatina came to his help. She informed Count Rostovtsev by telephone on the 29th of September that if General Anichkov could deliver the jetton to her urgently, it would without delay be sent to the Empress. Nikitin informed Rostovtsev on the very same day by telegram that he had personally passed the jetton on to General Anichkov.


To identify who was mentioned in the document about the Fabergé jetton, we made an educated guess on Anichkov – he is general-lieutenant Milii Milievich Anichkov (1848 – after 1917), who was the Assistant Chief of the Palace Administration and later Director of the Court Marshal’s department. The Princess offering a helping hand was Princess Sophia Sergeevna Putyatina, neé Paltov (1866 – died in Paris in 1940), wife of Mikhail Sergeevich Putyatin. We can also suggest that Vladimir Nikolaevich Nikitin (1848-1922) is the general of artillery, who from 1906 to 1908 was chief of the First Artillery army. His daughter Lidia Vladimirovna was maid-of-honor of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

The next page in the archive file is a letter by Prince Putyatin written on board the Imperial yacht Polyarnaya Zvezda [Polar Star] to Count Ya. N. Rostovtsev. As mentioned before, the Standart steered by the Finnish pilot Johan Blomqvist hit an under-water rock (not shown on the charts) on the 11th of September 1907. The Imperial family was rescued by the wheel yacht Alexandria. A friend of the Empress, Anna Vyrubova, writes that they lived cooped up two weeks on this yacht until the Polar Star arrived. In his letter Prince Putyatin explains he did not answer by telegram the one sent by Count Rostovtsev which he had received at one o’clock on the morning of the 30th of September, since he was not sure when a mine cruiser would leave and deliver the jetton. It is interesting to mention that Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna and her husband Prince Peter Alexandrovich Oldenburg were going to leave for Finland on the same cruiser. Putyatin writes he received the jetton personally on September 30th, and delivered it to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna on board the yacht Polyarnaya Zvezda.​

Sketch of the Flag-shaped Jetton with a Double-headed
Eagle Based on Putyatin’s Drawing
(Courtesy of the Authors)

But the jetton was furnished without a chain, and therefore impossible to attach to the button hole of a uniform. Along with a drawing, Prince Putyatin writes, “Her Majesty consented to allow me to send this jetton back to Fabergé for the addition of an appropriate chain.” The prince further asks Count Rostovtsev to deliver the jetton to Fabergé with the request to pay attention that

the eagle is not accurately depicted: firstly, it is painted with a mouse-grey color instead of black, and secondly, the feathers are too thin and that is why they are in a bigger quantity than it should be. Evidently the artist in the company is not familiar with the Russian heraldic eagle. It is depicted on coins in the very correct way.

On the 9th of October, the jetton – now complete with a chain – was again delivered to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. The Imperial family was still on board the Polyarnaya Zvezda in the Finnish archipelago. Emperor Nicholas II only returned with his family, relatives, and suite to Peterhof on the 19th of October 1907.

According to Fabergé researcher Valentin Skurlov, another jetton was sold on the 27th of September, 1907. It is named on the account Standart and is described as a jetton with a golden flag and an enameled eagle, is lacking the name of a recipient, has on the verso and the years, 1896 and 1906. The Empress paid 22 rubles on the account, which was half of the total cost of 44 rubles. It was commissioned from Fabergé by Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Skurlov suggests it was a special jetton since it was twice as expensive than others made later.

Boinovich, A. and Yu. Sibirtsev, Istoria Russkogo Flota v Znakakh I Zhetonakh [History of Russian Fleet in Tokens and Badges], 2009, p. 66, write that a special token for 10 years of work on the yacht Standart was approved in 1906, and another one in 1911 – for 5 years of service on the yacht Standart. It appears only a handful of persons received these jettons.

The puzzle of this story still remains unsolved – who was decorated with this award made by Fabergé in 1907?​

 

Imperial Yacht Standart Jetton
by Christel McCanless

Korneva and Cheboksarova, authors of the essay “Fabergé Jetton Puzzle” (Fabergé Research Newsletter, Winter 10-11) using archival evidence are searching for a jetton made to honor service on the Imperial Yacht Standart (Штандартъ), after she went aground off the Finnish Coast on September 11, 1907. A brief summary of the known facts: The Standart commemorative medal (jetton) described in the Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA Fond 525, op. 2, File 233) was commissioned from Fabergé by Empress Alexandra in September 1907, delivered on October 9, 1907, and was made by Alfred Thielemann, a Fabergé workmaster from 1880-1910, and after that time his son, Rudolf Thielemann, continued the business. Frida Palackén (Fabergé Research Newsletter, Fall 2011) related a personal story of a jetton (not by Fabergé) awarded after the rescue of the Impeiral yacht.

The Standart, the most luxurious yacht of the time was built by order of Emperor Alexander III of Russia, and constructed by the Danish shipyard of Burmeister & Wain in Copenhagen, beginning in 1893. The vessel, 420 feet in length, was launched on March 21, 1895, and came into service early September 1896. Boinovich, A. and Yu. Sibirtsev in Istoria Russkogo Flota v Znakakh I Zhetonakh (History of Russian Fleet in Tokens and Badges), 2009, p. 66, describe special jettons for service on the Standart: (1) Approved in 1906 for 10 years of service with an X and the dates 1896-1906 on the verso, and (2) Approved in 1911 for 5 years of service with the dates of service on its verso, for example, 1907-1912, or any other 5-year time period.

A gold jetton with an enameled Imperial eagle fitting the description for (2) and the Putyatin’s drawing from Korneva and Cheboksarova (below) plus an engraving on the medal sold at auction (Sotheby London, June 7, 2007, Lot 541 with an error in the workmaster attribution – “Alexander Thielman”) brings to light more historical information. Alexander Tillander, an independent retail jeweler with a workshop, and Alfred Thielemann, a workmaster in the House of Fabergé, both used the AT mark on the jettons they made.​

Double-headed Eagle Jetton Sketch
Based on Putyatin’s Drawing (Courtesy Korneva and Cheboksarova)

Standart Jetton (Courtesy McFerrin Collection)

A recent examination of a jetton (above ) on view at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California, verified an AT mark. Since is it known a similar jetton was ordered from Fabergé, one might conclude – as yet not completely verified – the jetton now in the McFerrin Collection is from the Alfred Thielemann’s workshop.

Biographical information discovered about the jetton recipient is based on the Cyrillic engraving, Captain / S.R. Nevyarovsky / 1907-1912, on the verso of the 1½ in. (3.5 cm) jetton. Stanislaw R. Nevyarovsky (1879-1934, Paris), mechanical engineer, Catholic, married, speaks French, English, and German, in naval service since 1898, and received a gold medal for five years of service on the Imperial yacht Standart in 1912, also in the same year he received the commemorative medal to mark the 100th anniversary of the War of 1812, Captain – 2nd rank in 1913 …


Another source states: In 1917, he did not return from a trip to England. In exile, he lived in France. Since 1924, member of the Company’s former students of the Naval Engineering School in Paris. The Secretary of the Union Guards officers. The author of an essay, ‘Death Svetlana [a ship]’ published in the book, From the Fleet of Admiral Rozhdestvensky, Prague, 1930.


Greg King in his book, The Court of the Last Tsar (p. 280), writes, “the yacht had a permanent assignment of seventeen officers, led first by Captain Neverovsky (sic) who, on his retirement in 1912, was replaced … “​

Imperial Family at a Picnic in 1910 with Captain Nevyarovsky


So can one assume the jetton in the McFerrin Collection survived because some time after his retirement from the Standart Captain Nevyarovsky fled to Paris, and carried his award with him? We do know he contributed an essay to a book not related to his service on the Standart, and his extant 5-year service pin is 100 years old this year.

My thanks to contributors – Tim Adams (USA), Tatiana Cheboksarova, Galina Korneva, Valentin Skurlov (all of St. Petersburg, Russia), Annemiek Wintraecken (Netherlands), Ulla Tillander-Godenhielm (Finland), and Joanna Wrangham (Canada).