Sovereign Grand Master of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, Costume Plate, 1844
€ 345
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1844
Mapmaker / artist
Engraved by R. King
Publisher
Librairie Historique-Artistique, Brussels
Technique
Wood Engraving
Coloring
Hand colored
Sheet size
26 × 17 cm (10.2 × 6.7 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-13055-80
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.
Condition
Light wear to the bottom right and top left corners. Age toning, darker at the edges; handling soiling along the edges and scattered foxing in the margins. Printed image clean.
About this sheet
This is an original antique wood engraving, colored by hand, showing the Sovereign Grand Master of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus in the robes of the order. He stands full length on a pale ground, wearing a black cap with a gold band and a large white plume, a white lace jabot and a broad white collar worked with gold scrolls. Over his shoulders falls a long crimson mantle embroidered with gold scrolls along its hem and train, with wide white sleeves also worked in gold. On his breast is the large white cross of the order with trefoil ends over a green saltire, crossed by a twisted green and white cord that ends in tassels in his gloved hand at left, and a smaller star of the order is pinned at right. He wears white gloves, white hose and white shoes.
The caption beneath the image is in Italian, in two lines: "SOVERANO GRAN MAESTRO" and "dell' Ordine de' SS. Maurizio e Lazzaro." (Sovereign Grand Master of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus). The block is signed in the ground at right "R. KING, SC.", the engraver's signature, with sc. for sculpsit (engraved it). There is no plate number on this sheet.
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; its 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 plates are relief prints, wood engravings colored by hand with watercolor.
The single figure in its crimson mantle makes a strong costume piece for a study, hall or library wall.
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.
