Papal States, Order of Saint Gregory the Great, Plate XXVIII, 1844

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.

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