Tsar's shashka comes to auction
12 July 2024 The sword, once belonging to Nicholas II, carries an estimate of £1.6m-£2.4m at Apollo Art Auctions
Caucasian presentation shashka, estimate £1.6m-£2.4m at Apollo Art Auctions.
A Caucasian presentation shashka that belonged to Nicholas II goes to auction this week with a guide in the auction of £1.6m-£2.4m.
Presented to the tsar when he was the heir to the Russian throne during the imperial family’s visit to the Caucasus in 1888, it is adorned with ivory, gold, wood, and enamel, and inscribed to the blade with calligraphic Arabic couplets blessing the owner with good fortune, long life, and the attainment of glory.
Previously owned by a Polish aristocratic family and then by Russian sword specialist Eugene Mollo in Switzerland, it comes from a European collector.
