EXCEPTIONAL ETOILE DE LA LEGION D'HONNEUR... - Lot 48 - Osenat

Lot 48
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Estimation :
80000 - 120000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 167 440EUR
EXCEPTIONAL ETOILE DE LA LEGION D'HONNEUR... - Lot 48 - Osenat
EXCEPTIONAL ETOILE DE LA LEGION D'HONNEUR IN DIAMOND OF EMPEROR NAPOLEON IER, 3RD TYPE IN GOLD AND VERMEIL. Entirely set with old-cut and rose-cut diamonds and emeralds. Single-sided crown with five florets hinged by two hinges on the upper branch set with 70 diamonds and roses. Five-pointed star set with 55 diamonds, laurel wreath set with 124 emeralds. Center in gold, enamel and diamonds. Obverse: portrait of Emperor Napoleon I, head to the right, surrounded by a double row of 30 diamonds, bordered by the legend "NAPOLEON EMP. DES FRANÇAIS" in gold on blue enamel. Reverse: eagle, head right, bordered by the legend "Honneur et Patrie" and trimmed with three stars on a blue enamel background. The lower part of the ring is set with 12 diamonds. The whole jewel comprises 190 diamonds and roses and 124 emeralds (approx.). Superb condition. First Empire period (from 1808) Work attributed to the Maison NITOT, which produced the vast majority of diamond badges from 1810 onwards. Star diameter: 40 mm. Height with crown: 62 mm. Height with ring: 72 mm. Provenance : - From the Bertrand collection (where it was noted as belonging to the Emperor). - Then the Delafosse collection, - Sale L'Empire à Fontainebleau, Fontainebleau (Maître Osenat), November 7, 2004, n°490, expert Jean-Claude Dey - Jean Louis Noisiez Collection. History: See the text on our diamond badge in "The Badge of Honor": "By authorization of the Emperor, certain members of the Legion of Honor wore a diamond badge. Some of these jewels survive today, and the museum has studied two examples - a "3rd type" insignia for the Emperor from the Bertrand collection, and a "4th type" insignia designed for the King of Rome, kept in a private collection. The former is surmounted by a half-crown with eight flowered uprights at the base. Enriched at the top with a cruciferous globe through which passes a ring set with diamonds around half its perimeter, this crown, all set with diamonds in gold, is riveted to the points of the upper radius. The body of the star, unbuttoned and entirely set with diamonds visible on the obverse and reverse, is surrounded by a crown of foliage passing through the rays, made of emeralds. The center of this jewel features, on the obverse, a tiny imperial effigy, inscribed in a radiating gold field, itself surrounded by a radiating field enhanced with diamonds, all encircled by the classic blue-enameled gold scroll. On the reverse, the badge features a gold imperial eagle surrounded by the motto "HONOR AND PATRIE", set against a blue enamel background. The badge measures 40 mm in diameter and 72 mm in maximum height.
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