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 Spain, Santiago, Calatrava and Alcántara, Plate XXIV, 1844
$270
€240 · £205
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, top left and bottom left corners; minor nicks to the right edge. 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-13055-29
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 with watercolor, showing the crosses of three Spanish military orders. At the center is the red cross of Santiago, its upper and side arms ending in fleurs-de-lis and its lower arm drawn out into a sword blade, outlined in gold. At upper left and upper right are two large crosses fleury of identical form, the left one red and the right one green: the crosses of Calatrava and of Alcántara. Below them hang three badges, each from a gold trophy of a plumed helmet before flags and lances. At lower left a gold-bordered diamond of white enamel carries the red cross fleury, on a red watered ribbon; at lower right a matching diamond carries the green cross fleury, on a green watered ribbon. At the foot an oval white badge with a red border carries the red sword cross of Santiago, on a red ribbon.
The running head reads "ESPAGNE." (Spain) and the plate number "XXIV." The items are numbered 1 to 6: the Santiago sword cross is 1 and the Santiago badge 2, the red cross fleury at upper left is 3 and the green one at upper right 5, and the red and green diamond badges are 4 and 6. There are no inscriptions on the pieces themselves.
The plate comes from Ordres de Chevalerie et Marques d'Honneur, published by Auguste Wahlen in 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 the orders of Prussia, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Hanover, Greece, the Roman States, Saxe-Coburg and Brazil.
The symmetry of red and green crosses frames well on its own or as a pair with another Spanish plate.
Condition: Light wear to the bottom right, top left and bottom left corners; minor nicks to the right edge. 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.
