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Lot Essay
A RARE BADGE OF PROBABLE ROYAL PROVENANCE
This type of badge, which could be worn as a hat-badge, would carry a political as well as personal or chivalric message. Hat-badges or pendants acted as fashion accessories as seen in portraits painted across Europe in the early to mid-16th century, and could also help identify a sitter or express their courtly status. A telling example is the preparatory portrait of William Parr, Marquess of Northampton dated 1538-1542 showing a detail of his hat-badge of St George and the dragon marking him as a Gentleman Pensioner, a member of the bodyguard of King Henry VIII.
Badges of the Order of Saint Michael are extremely rare, with only six examples, including the present lot, surviving to this day. The inclusion of diamonds in the present example suggests a royal provenance. The most complete extant example, and the most comparable to the present lot, is in the Spada Collection currently exhibited at the Musée de la Légion d'Honneur, Paris, which was sold at Christie's, London, 28 November 1972, lot 16, from the collection of the Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley. This badge is attributed to the court of King Henry II (1519-1559) as a gift from the King to his sister Marguerite for her marriage to Emanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (1553-1580). The present badge is of a superior and much more delicate manufacture when compared to the example now in the Spada Collection. Yvonne Hackenbroch noted (in op. cit. 1979, p. 58) that the treatment of the theme of Saint Michael demonstrates the transition from late Gothic to Renaissance forms. The figure's tranquil face resembles that of the angels and saints in the miniatures by Jean Bourdichon, an artist at the court of Anne of Brittany in Tours as well as the figures of the Virgins of Saint Ursula on the Reliquary of the nef of Anne de Bretagne hallmarked in Tours, circa 1505.
Two figures described as either St George or St Michael, now lacking the diamond settings, also survive in the Grünes Gewölbe in Dresden, illustrated in Y. Hackenbroch, Renaissance Jewellery, London, 1979, fig. 332, A and B. Two further similar figures are referenced in the archives in the Château de Pau, France 1561-1562 as "A St Michael in gold enriched in diamonds...Another St Michael, very small all armed in diamonds" (D. Syndram, Renaissance and Baroque Treasury Art, Dresden, 2004, p. 35; D. Syndram, Das Grünes Gewölbe zu Dresden, Munich, 1994, p. 255, p. 305, no.4).
The pendant offered here also has close affinities with two badges illustrated in Hans Mielich's pictorial inventory, The Jewelry Book of Anna, Duchess of Bavaria dated 1552-1556. This manuscript, commissioned in 1552 by Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria, comprised 110 drawings depicting the jewelry, now lost, owned by the duke and his wife, Duchess Anna, a member of the Habsburg dynasty and a daughter of Emperor Ferdinand I. The manuscript was preserved in the private ducal and electoral Chamber of Artifacts for almost three centuries until it was presented in 1843 to the Bavarian State Library by King Ludwig I. The figures described as either Saint Michael or Saint George share the same characteristics with diamonds fitted into a gold setting depicting an armored figure.
THE ORDER OF SAINT MICHAEL
The Order of Saint-Michael is the oldest of the French orders of chivalry. It was created by King Louis XI on 1 August 1469 following a stay at the court of the Duke of Burgundy, where the future king was impressed by the prestige of the Golden Fleece. Louis XI placed the order under the patronage of Saint Michael in response to the annexation of Saint George by the English (who supported Louis XI's subjects unrest against their king), whose figure had adorned the royal standards since Charles VII, and whose famous mountain had resisted all English aggression during the Hundred Years' War.
The knights, thirty-six in number, swore absolute loyalty to the king as head and sovereign of the Order. During public civil activities, they wore a gold collar made of shells tied with double knots, a symbol of fraternity, which François I replaced with ropes in 1516, to which was affixed the image of the archangel slaying the dragon.
The collar was awarded by the Order and had to be returned upon the death of the holder. The statute stipulated that they would always wear the badge attached to a chain or lace, which became black silk under Henry II or Charles IX. The Order soon established itself as the equal of its greatest elders.
After the death of Henry II, the Order, which had been awarded so lavishly that it was soon described as the "collar of all beasts", was threatened with extinction. Henry III, wishing to revive it, associated it with the Order of the Holy Spirit, which he had just created in December 1578.
The knights of the new Order, numbering one hundred, were first admitted to the Order of Saint-Michel, which also had one hundred members, chosen from nobles of more modest lineage preventing them from joining the new company. Despite this reform, during the regency of Anne of Austria, the order was granted excessively to many who did not meet the conditions for admission laid down in the statutes. Louis XIV, exasperated, severely reformed the royal order with the regulation of 14 July 1661 and the ordinance of 12 January 1665 removing members deemed unworthy. All were required to wear a cross with an effigy of Saint Michael at its center, suspended from a black ribbon worn as a sash. Louis XIV's texts effectively transformed the Order of Saint-Michel into an order of merit. During the 18th century, the honorific distinction given to the chivalric institution became more pronounced, as it welcomed fewer and fewer soldiers, admitted to the Order of Saint Louis created in 1693, and more and more civilians chosen from doctors, scientists, artists and architects, such as Hardouin-Mansart, Le Nôtre and Hyacinthe Rigaud. When the candidates chosen by the King were commoners, their entry into the Order was preceded by an ipso facto ennoblement, the main condition for admission being merit and not the quality of their blood. In this respect, the Order of Saint-Michel, even before the Order of Saint-Louis, was a forerunner of the current French national orders, which recognize merit acquired in the service of the State.
After the Revolution and the decree of 30 July and the law of 6 August 1791 concerning the abolition of the orders of knighthood, the Order of Saint-Michel, still conferred by Louis XVIII during emigration, was re-established by the sovereign in 1814. As the second royal order, it rivalled the Legion of Honor, which was only ranked fourth in precedence, and became a pure order of merit, in this case the highest civilian distinction in the kingdom. On a day-to-day basis, its knights wore the black cordon, but it became common practice to hang a reduced insignia from the left buttonhole. Under the Constitutional Charter of 14 August 1830, Louis-Philippe, King of the French, retained the Legion of Honor and the Order of Saint-Michel, attached to the fallen dynasty, thus died out after 360 years of existence.
This type of badge, which could be worn as a hat-badge, would carry a political as well as personal or chivalric message. Hat-badges or pendants acted as fashion accessories as seen in portraits painted across Europe in the early to mid-16th century, and could also help identify a sitter or express their courtly status. A telling example is the preparatory portrait of William Parr, Marquess of Northampton dated 1538-1542 showing a detail of his hat-badge of St George and the dragon marking him as a Gentleman Pensioner, a member of the bodyguard of King Henry VIII.
Badges of the Order of Saint Michael are extremely rare, with only six examples, including the present lot, surviving to this day. The inclusion of diamonds in the present example suggests a royal provenance. The most complete extant example, and the most comparable to the present lot, is in the Spada Collection currently exhibited at the Musée de la Légion d'Honneur, Paris, which was sold at Christie's, London, 28 November 1972, lot 16, from the collection of the Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley. This badge is attributed to the court of King Henry II (1519-1559) as a gift from the King to his sister Marguerite for her marriage to Emanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (1553-1580). The present badge is of a superior and much more delicate manufacture when compared to the example now in the Spada Collection. Yvonne Hackenbroch noted (in op. cit. 1979, p. 58) that the treatment of the theme of Saint Michael demonstrates the transition from late Gothic to Renaissance forms. The figure's tranquil face resembles that of the angels and saints in the miniatures by Jean Bourdichon, an artist at the court of Anne of Brittany in Tours as well as the figures of the Virgins of Saint Ursula on the Reliquary of the nef of Anne de Bretagne hallmarked in Tours, circa 1505.
Two figures described as either St George or St Michael, now lacking the diamond settings, also survive in the Grünes Gewölbe in Dresden, illustrated in Y. Hackenbroch, Renaissance Jewellery, London, 1979, fig. 332, A and B. Two further similar figures are referenced in the archives in the Château de Pau, France 1561-1562 as "A St Michael in gold enriched in diamonds...Another St Michael, very small all armed in diamonds" (D. Syndram, Renaissance and Baroque Treasury Art, Dresden, 2004, p. 35; D. Syndram, Das Grünes Gewölbe zu Dresden, Munich, 1994, p. 255, p. 305, no.4).
The pendant offered here also has close affinities with two badges illustrated in Hans Mielich's pictorial inventory, The Jewelry Book of Anna, Duchess of Bavaria dated 1552-1556. This manuscript, commissioned in 1552 by Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria, comprised 110 drawings depicting the jewelry, now lost, owned by the duke and his wife, Duchess Anna, a member of the Habsburg dynasty and a daughter of Emperor Ferdinand I. The manuscript was preserved in the private ducal and electoral Chamber of Artifacts for almost three centuries until it was presented in 1843 to the Bavarian State Library by King Ludwig I. The figures described as either Saint Michael or Saint George share the same characteristics with diamonds fitted into a gold setting depicting an armored figure.
THE ORDER OF SAINT MICHAEL
The Order of Saint-Michael is the oldest of the French orders of chivalry. It was created by King Louis XI on 1 August 1469 following a stay at the court of the Duke of Burgundy, where the future king was impressed by the prestige of the Golden Fleece. Louis XI placed the order under the patronage of Saint Michael in response to the annexation of Saint George by the English (who supported Louis XI's subjects unrest against their king), whose figure had adorned the royal standards since Charles VII, and whose famous mountain had resisted all English aggression during the Hundred Years' War.
The knights, thirty-six in number, swore absolute loyalty to the king as head and sovereign of the Order. During public civil activities, they wore a gold collar made of shells tied with double knots, a symbol of fraternity, which François I replaced with ropes in 1516, to which was affixed the image of the archangel slaying the dragon.
The collar was awarded by the Order and had to be returned upon the death of the holder. The statute stipulated that they would always wear the badge attached to a chain or lace, which became black silk under Henry II or Charles IX. The Order soon established itself as the equal of its greatest elders.
After the death of Henry II, the Order, which had been awarded so lavishly that it was soon described as the "collar of all beasts", was threatened with extinction. Henry III, wishing to revive it, associated it with the Order of the Holy Spirit, which he had just created in December 1578.
The knights of the new Order, numbering one hundred, were first admitted to the Order of Saint-Michel, which also had one hundred members, chosen from nobles of more modest lineage preventing them from joining the new company. Despite this reform, during the regency of Anne of Austria, the order was granted excessively to many who did not meet the conditions for admission laid down in the statutes. Louis XIV, exasperated, severely reformed the royal order with the regulation of 14 July 1661 and the ordinance of 12 January 1665 removing members deemed unworthy. All were required to wear a cross with an effigy of Saint Michael at its center, suspended from a black ribbon worn as a sash. Louis XIV's texts effectively transformed the Order of Saint-Michel into an order of merit. During the 18th century, the honorific distinction given to the chivalric institution became more pronounced, as it welcomed fewer and fewer soldiers, admitted to the Order of Saint Louis created in 1693, and more and more civilians chosen from doctors, scientists, artists and architects, such as Hardouin-Mansart, Le Nôtre and Hyacinthe Rigaud. When the candidates chosen by the King were commoners, their entry into the Order was preceded by an ipso facto ennoblement, the main condition for admission being merit and not the quality of their blood. In this respect, the Order of Saint-Michel, even before the Order of Saint-Louis, was a forerunner of the current French national orders, which recognize merit acquired in the service of the State.
After the Revolution and the decree of 30 July and the law of 6 August 1791 concerning the abolition of the orders of knighthood, the Order of Saint-Michel, still conferred by Louis XVIII during emigration, was re-established by the sovereign in 1814. As the second royal order, it rivalled the Legion of Honor, which was only ranked fourth in precedence, and became a pure order of merit, in this case the highest civilian distinction in the kingdom. On a day-to-day basis, its knights wore the black cordon, but it became common practice to hang a reduced insignia from the left buttonhole. Under the Constitutional Charter of 14 August 1830, Louis-Philippe, King of the French, retained the Legion of Honor and the Order of Saint-Michel, attached to the fallen dynasty, thus died out after 360 years of existence.