Epaulettes of the captain of the RIA engineering units

Epaulettes of this type, with a field of silver or gold woven brocade of a special pattern, commonly referred to as "matting", appeared in the 1800s as a difference between officers of the guard and cavalry from infantry officers, whose epaulettes had a field made of colored cloth with a sewn number. After the appearance of cavalry metal epaulettes in 1827, epaulettes with a woven field remained only in the Guards foot troops, which is why they were called epaulettes of the "guards infantry pattern". However, over time, the same epaulettes with a woven field began to be gradually introduced not only for officers of the guard, but also for officers of the Corps of Military Engineers, staff and personal adjutants, military educational institutions who held police positions, as well as those who were listed in engineering troops, but did not hold combat positions and some other categories.

This pair of epaulettes could belong to a military engineer, a staff or personal adjutant, an officer of one of the regiments of the 3rd Guards Division, the Life Guards of the Sapper Battalion, as well as a ship engineer, a mechanical engineer of the fleet and some categories of officers belonging to the Admiralty, i.e. coastal personnel. The size and shape of the rollers allow the epaulettes to be attributed to the 1890s - 1910s. One of the matting is damaged, but it is quite suitable for restoration; the rollers are somewhat flattened, apparently, the epaulettes were stored under heavy weight from above. Guarantee of authenticity.