Erik August Kollin
Encyclopedia
Erik August Kollin was born in Finland
, where he completed his apprenticeship before travelling to St. Petersburg. Qualified as workmaster in 1868, in 1870 opened his own workshop in St. Petersburg. Kollin worked for August Holmström and for Carl Fabergé, and was soon put in charge of all Fabergé
workshops, a post he held until 1886 when he was replaced by Michael Perchin. He was Fabergé's first chief jeweler. Specialized in gold and silver articles, most of them in an archaic style of the period. The artefacts produced Kollin for Fabergé before his departure in 1886 generally bears his initials EK, together with Fabergé's hallmark and are frequently to be found in a Fabergé box. Evidently these pre-date the change of hallmarks in 1899. Objects bearing EK mark oly and produced between 1885 and 1899 should be considered as the work of an independent operator, unless cased by Fabergé.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, where he completed his apprenticeship before travelling to St. Petersburg. Qualified as workmaster in 1868, in 1870 opened his own workshop in St. Petersburg. Kollin worked for August Holmström and for Carl Fabergé, and was soon put in charge of all Fabergé
Fabergé
Fabergé may refer to:*House of Fabergé, a Russian jewelry firm founded by Gustav Faberge in 1842*Fabergé workmaster, goldsmiths who produced jewelry for the House of Fabergé*Fabergé eggs, the most famous works of the House of Faberge...
workshops, a post he held until 1886 when he was replaced by Michael Perchin. He was Fabergé's first chief jeweler. Specialized in gold and silver articles, most of them in an archaic style of the period. The artefacts produced Kollin for Fabergé before his departure in 1886 generally bears his initials EK, together with Fabergé's hallmark and are frequently to be found in a Fabergé box. Evidently these pre-date the change of hallmarks in 1899. Objects bearing EK mark oly and produced between 1885 and 1899 should be considered as the work of an independent operator, unless cased by Fabergé.