Russian Imperial Silver Travel Inkwell

A Russian cube-shaped silver travel inkwell. Hallmarks: 84 Russian silver standard, Kokoshnik mark and maker initials EK: Erik Kollin with original glass inkwell. It was made by Erik August Kollin (1836-1901), a Finnish jeweler who worked for Fabergé in St. Petersburg before opening his workshop in 1870.

As a teenager, Kollin left his hometown Pohja, Finland to join the workshop of Alexander Palmén, a gold and silversmith in Tammisaari. Having honed his skills by the age of twenty-two, he continued his journey to St Petersburg in 1858, where he joined the renowned workshop of August Holmström, who only a year earlier had become Fabergé’s Chief Jeweler. In 1870, having worked under August Holmström for twelve years, Kollin established his own workshop which was subsequently contracted to work exclusively with Fabergé. Within a couple of years, he earned the title of Chief Work master, a position he held until 1886 when he was replaced by Michael Perkhin.