"The Collection of Monsieur G."
Imperial Russian Militaria
September 17 & 18, 2026
Hôtel Drouot, Paris.
Rooms 1–7
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On September 17 and 18, Millon and the Giraudeau auction house will present a major two-day sale dedicated to Imperial Russian militaria. The auction brings together—across three sessions—more than 800 items from the collection of a French enthusiast of Russian descent who dedicated his life to researching and preserving historical artifacts linked to the Russian Empire and the White émigré community.
Assembled over decades across Europe and beyond, this collection—unique in the world in its museum-quality scope—includes military uniforms and headgear, regimental flags, sabers and firearms, decorations and orders of chivalry, photographs and archives, as well as books and historical memorabilia. Together, they bear witness to the military and ceremonial world of Imperial Russia up to 1918.
Highlights of the sale include two regimental flags (along with rare ribbons and flag finials), a Guard Hussar sabretache bearing the cipher of Nicholas II, a silver St. George trumpet, a saber from the era of Catherine II, a military volume from the library of Platon Zubov, a pair of shoulder boards and a cap that belonged to Tsar Nicholas II, and a section of the collar of the Order of St. Andrew dating from the reigns of Paul I and Alexander I.
Beyond their rarity, these objects tell the story of a collector’s passion and of a heritage scattered across the globe following the fall of the Russian Empire. The sale will particularly highlight the elegance of the Russian uniforms and headdresses worn by various Imperial Army regiments, the symbolic richness and craftsmanship of the goldsmiths who created civil and military decorations, and the museum-quality nature of the collection.
This initial sale offers a highly focused overview of standard-issue Russian weaponry, spanning primarily from the 18th to the early 20th century. It brings together rifles, carbines, and pistols from the major Imperial manufactories of Tula, Izhevsk, and Sestroretsk, tracing the technical evolution of the Russian army: from flintlock and percussion mechanisms to the Berdan and Krnka systems, and finally the Mosin-Nagant. Also featured are foreign-made arms produced for Russia—notably by Colt, Châtellerault, and New England Westinghouse—which illustrate the Empire’s international industrial collaborations.
