Attribution and restoration of St. George’s banners of 1856 from the collection of regalia of the Kuban Cossack voisko

The article includes information about the investigation and restoration of two banners from the collection of Kuban regalia of the Krasnodar State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve named after E.D. Felitsyn. The exhibits have a high historical and cultural value, as they are related with the events of the Crimean War. Emperor Alexander II granted these St. George banners for bravery and exemplary service to the Black Sea Voisko and the Azov Voisko. The inscriptions of the honor on colors are identical. After the formation of the Kuban Cossack Voisko in 1860 (from the Black Sea Voisko and the first six brigades of the Caucasian Line Voisko) and the inclusion of Azov Cossacks in its structure in 1865, these banners began to be stored together with other military regalia. When describing them at the beginning of the XX century, an mistake occurred. Historical and archival research made it possible to clarify the attribution of the banners received for restoration, to establish the reasons for their award and to collect information about the history of their existence. The article provides information about the restoration of banners and describes in detail the restoration operations that made it possible to give the banner of the Azov Voisko an expositional appearance. The program of its restoration included cleaning and plasticizing the fibers of the two-layer banner, strengthening painting, hot-glue duplication and additional strengthening with the help of needle technique, cleaning metal fringe, strengthening St. George ribbon, cleaning and preservation of the finial.