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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.
Papal States, Order of Saint Gregory the Great, Plate XXVIII, 1844
$315
€280 · £235
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. 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-13055-34
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 insignia of the Papal States. On the left side are the pieces of one order: at top a silver rayed star bearing a red eight-pointed cross with gold edges and ball tips, its center a blue medallion with a haloed half-length figure inside a gold lettered ring; below it the matching red cross hanging from a green laurel wreath on a red ribbon with orange edges; and at the foot the same cross hung from a gold trophy of a helmet and flags, with its round reverse below. On the right side are three pieces of a second design, a red cross with a narrow white cross inside it: first on a silver rayed star, then hanging from a gold royal crown on a red watered ribbon, and last from a crown topped by a gold trophy of arms.
The running head reads "ÉTATS DE L'ÉGLISE." (States of the Church) and the plate number "XXVIII." The items are numbered 1 to 6. The ring of the star numbered 1 reads "GREGORIUS MAGNUS", and the crosses numbered 2 and 3 read "S. GREGORIUS MAGNUS" (Saint Gregory the Great), which names the Order of Saint Gregory the Great. The reverse of 3 repeats the name around a blue center with a short legend ending "PRINCIPE". The red and white crosses numbered 4, 5 and 6 carry no lettering.
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.
Red, white and gold on a cream sheet, the plate reads clearly from across a room.
Condition: 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.
