A silver salver unidentified maker's mark, Arkhangelsk, 1830 the tray engraved with crowned Imperial cypher of Nicholas I, the verso with engraved inscription in Cyrillic 'To Marine Engineer Lieutenant Colonel Ershev for the Construction and Launch of the 74 Cannon Ship 'RED', 23rd May 1830, Arkhangelsk', 84 standard length: 31cm (12 3/16in); width: 21cm (8 1/4in). Footnotes: Provenance Private collection, Scotland Barely a month into his reign, which began in 1825, Nicholas I declared that 'Russia must become the third naval power after England and France and must be more powerful than any coalition of secondary naval powers.' As a consequence, the 1825 Committee to Organise the Fleet was formed, which outlined an ambitious shipbuilding project which aimed to create the third largest navy in Europe. The growth of the Navy in the years after this greatly bolstered Russian naval capability, expanding both the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets. The dedication inscription on the offered lot is testament to the shipbuilding which commenced in the years after Nicholas I acceded to the Russian throne. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com