Knights of Santiago and Alcantara with Badges of Knightly Orders, 1842

This original antique lithograph, hand colored, comes from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). The upper image shows two knights in long white mantles that trail on the ground. The knight at the left, with long dark hair, wears a red cross on his breast and holds a tasseled cord; above him hangs his badge, a red sword shaped cross on a yellow oval suspended from a red ribbon. The knight at the right, in a curled wig and lace collar, wears his mantle over a black coat and gathers it in one hand; his badge, a green cross on a yellow lozenge, hangs from a blue ribbon. The lower image shows three badges. At the left is a white cross under a gold crown, its center bearing a sword and a palm, hung from a dark ribbon; in the middle a silver rayed star with a red cross in a ring, topped by a flaming heart and a small cross; at the right a red bordered yellow lozenge with a red cross, hung from a trophy of arms and a red ribbon.

The lettering reads "Tom IV" at the top left, "SPAGNA" at the center and "Tav 12" at the top right. Under the upper image: "Cavaliere di S. Giacomo e suo distintivo" (knight of Saint James and his badge) and "Cavaliere d'Alcantara e suo distintivo" (knight of Alcantara and his badge). Under the badges: "Dei Cavalieri di Cristo in Spagna" (of the Knights of Christ in Spain), "Dei Cavalieri di Cristo in Portogallo" (of the Knights of Christ in Portugal) and "Dei Cavalieri di Montesato" (of the Knights of Montesa), with the general title "Distintivi Cavallereschi" (badges of knighthood).

Santiago, Alcantara and Montesa are military orders founded in medieval Spain; the cross of Santiago, ending below in a sword blade, is its best known emblem. The Order of Christ was founded in Portugal in 1319.

The strong reds and golds of the badges suit a library, a study or a collection of heraldry and orders of chivalry.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.