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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, Saint Sylvester Cross and Gregory XVI Medals, Plate XXX, 1844
£230
$305 · €270
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. Small light flecks in the image, otherwise clean.
- Collection
- Uniforms & regiments
- Era
- 1816 to 1899, Empire and industry
- Stock no.
- BG-13055-36
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 and medals of the Papal States. At upper left a gold eight-pointed cross with a blue ring around a gold bust of a crowned and haloed figure hangs on a crimson and black striped ribbon, with its round reverse below. At upper right is a large brown medal with an oak wreath around a central inscription, on a white and orange ribbon. At middle left a gold medal with a papal profile, framed by a green laurel wreath, hangs from crossed keys under a tiara on a white and orange ribbon. At middle right a small gold cross with a white center hangs from a gold laurel suspension on a crimson and black ribbon. At the foot two small medals, gold and silver, hang from crossed keys under tiaras on a long white and orange ribbon: the gold with a papal bust, the silver with a winged child holding a scroll.
The running head reads "ÉTATS DE L'ÉGLISE." (States of the Church) and the plate number "XXX." The items are numbered 12 to 16. The cross numbered 12 reads "SANC SILVESTER P.M." (Saint Sylvester, Supreme Pontiff), naming the Order of Saint Sylvester, and its reverse "GREGORIVS XVI RESTITVIT MDCCCXL." (Gregory XVI restored it, 1840). The large medal 13 is lettered "BENEMERENTI" (to the well deserving). The medal 15 and the gold medal of 16 read "GREGORIUS XVI PONT. MAX." (Gregory XVI, Supreme Pontiff), and the silver medal of 16 has "BENEMERENTI" on its scroll. The cross 14 is not lettered.
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.
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. Small light flecks in the image, otherwise 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.
