Close-ups
Framed and on the wall
Frame and rooms are illustrations of how the piece could look; it is sold unframed unless the description says otherwise.
Orders of Russia, Virtuti Militari Insignia and Izmail Cross, Plate LXVIII, 1844
£250
$330 · €295
Original print, not a reproduction.
Ships worldwide from the Netherlands, flat, insured and tracked. 14-day returns.
- Date
- 1844
- Technique
- Wood Engraving
- Coloring
- Hand colored
- Condition
- Good. Light wear to the bottom right corner. Age toning, darker at the edges; handling soiling along the edges and scattered foxing in the margins. Printed image clean.
- Collection
- Uniforms & regiments
- Era
- 1816 to 1899, Empire and industry
- Stock no.
- BG-13055-75
What the condition grades mean
- Excellent
- Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
- Very good
- Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
- Good
- Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
- Fair
- Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
This is an original antique wood engraving, colored by hand, showing decorations under the heading of Russia. At upper left is a silver star bearing a black cross edged in gold, with a crowned gold eagle in a green wreath at the center. At upper right a gold cross with rounded arms and an oval central panel of lettering hangs from an orange and black striped ribbon. Below left a broad sash of blue and black stripes carries a crowned black cross edged in gold, with a white eagle in a gold wreath at the center. At lower right a silver cross with a script letter on each arm and a wreathed center of lettering hangs from a blue ribbon edged in black.
The running head reads "RUSSIE." and the plate number "LXVIII." The items are numbered 21 to 24. The arms of the black crosses, items 21 and 22, read "VIR TUTI MILI TARI" (Latin, for military valor). The cross of item 23 is lettered "REX ET PATRIA 1831" (Latin, king and country, 1831). The gold cross of item 24 is cut "N3MANAP ВЗЯТЬ АЕКАЬРЯ II 1790", a garbled rendering of the Russian for Izmail taken, December 11, 1790.
The plate comes from Ordres de Chevalerie et Marques d'Honneur, published by Auguste Wahlen at Brussels by the Librairie Historique-Artistique, rue de Schaerbeek, 12, in 1844; the half title reads Histoire, costumes, décorations de tous les ordres de chevalerie, et marques d'honneur. Auguste Wahlen was the pen name of the Belgian writer Jean-François-Nicolas Loumyer (1801 to 1875), and the title page lists his own knighthoods in orders of Prussia, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Hanover, Greece, the Roman States, Saxe-Coburg and Brazil. The illustrations are relief prints, wood engravings, colored by hand with watercolor.
The strong black and gold crosses read clearly from a distance on a wall.
Condition: Light wear to the bottom right corner. Age toning, darker at the edges; handling soiling along the edges and scattered foxing in the margins. Printed image clean.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
