TIOLIER, after. - Lot 174

TIOLIER, after. Large matrix of the seal of the Order of the Holy Spirit. Bronze, decorated with Henri III receiving knights of the Order of the Holy Spirit. Diameter: 13.5 cm. B.E. The Order of the Holy Spirit was created on December 31, 1578 by King Henri III. The seal's matrix was made in silver by Claude de Héry, the king's medallist (ill.). (Gallica Clairambault 1111) This original matrix disappeared during the French Revolution. In 1816, King Louis XVIII entrusted medal-maker Pierre Nicolas Tiollier with the task of creating a new matrix, in order to revive the order. In a 1984 paper entitled Les sceaux des ordres du Roi, 1469-1830, Baron Pinoteau explains: "During the Restoration, only the seal of the Holy Spirit (1816) was remade, and it is a copper matrix that is currently housed in the objets d'art department of the Musée du Louvre*, after having passed through the Musée des souverains under Napoléon III. Various seals were also made in 1816 for the administration of orders". * (inventory number LP 1135) This die offered for sale - from the first half of the 19th century - was made after the one held by the Louvre, whose chasing of the figures is much more pronounced. It represents a rare historical witness to the restoration of the Order of the Holy Spirit.