laurentius

Dear fellow collectors, I went out of my normal collecting niche to buy this lovely Order of St. Gregory the Great. The piece was made by Tanfani and Bertarelli whose shop was located at the Piazza della Minerva in Rome. They produced decorations for the Papal See between 1905 and 1966. Would there be any collectors who could help me to get a more precise dating on the piece? Another thing I noticed is the coat of arms seem to differ from other cases I've seen on the internet. Would anyone have an explanation for that? It does show the Papal crown and the crossed keys of St. Peter, within the coat of arms we see a church, some farmland and half an eagle. The piece is of great quality, when I inspected it it occured to me that the four arms seem to have been made seperately, later being attached to the medaillon, forming the cross. Kind regards and thanks in advance, Laurentius There seems to have been some technical difficulty, would the moderator be so kind as to remove one of the two threads? My sincere apologies for the problem, Laurentius

Dear fellow collectors, I went out of my normal collecting niche to buy this lovely Order of St. Gregory the Great. The piece was made by Tanfani and Bertarelli whose shop was located at the Piazza della Minerva in Rome. They produced decorations for the Papal See between 1905 and 1966. Would there be any collectors who could help me to get a more precise dating on the piece? Another thing I noticed is the coat of arms seem to differ from other cases I've seen on the internet. Would anyone have an explanation for that? It does show the Papal crown and the crossed keys of St. Peter, within the coat of arms we see a church, some farmland and half an eagle. The piece is of great quality, when I inspected it it occured to me that the four arms seem to have been made seperately, later being attached to the medaillon, forming the cross. Kind regards and thanks in advance, Laurentius

I wouldn't use the abscence of the Kriegsdenkmünze for dating in this picture. Between 1871 and 1914 we often see soldiers and officers who only wear their EK, leaving out all other decorations, whether they be on a medalbar, pinback or something for around the neck. This being said, the soldier on the left is wearing a small single-piece medalbar with either a medal or a small cross, this could be the cross for Königgratz or the Kriegsdenkmünze. Would you happen to have an enlargedment of this soldier? That might help us. Kind regards, Laurentius

The access is sadly prohibited, shame since I would love to read it

Thanks Glenn and Arho for all your help and information. I fear that we sadly won't be figure out definetively who the person in the painting is, although I am very happy that we managed to boil it down to two people. Artistic license, wigs, it all makes a proper identification harder. Where not dealing with cold hard facts as we would see with a ribbon- or medalbar, which would make it much easier. Once again, many thanks for your help. Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear Lilnuke, a very nice chain, perhaps not German imperial but still in that zone. Given the lack of combat awards I suspect the owner of this chain to be courtier or politician. The third medal might be some form of coronation or jubileummedal? Kind regards, Laurentius

If we were to ignore Friedrich Eichheimer on account of the picture we have of him (his medals are folded in the same manner as the medals on my painting) would Dr. Carl Ahles be the only other possible recipient left? 1836 or some years after that seem to correspond with my judgement of the age of the painting and the frame. Kind regards and thanks in advance, Laurentius

Thank you Spolei, would this make a potential identification possible? If the difference between the Militär-Sanitäts-Ehrenzeichen and the Goldener Militärverdienstmedaille is the same as it is in WW1 that would mean that the Militär-Sanitäts-Ehrenzeichen is more scarce. Would you happen to know which rank? Kind regards and thanks in advance, Laurentius

No Problem at all ArHo, here you go It was a bit hard, given the reflecting tendencies of oilpaintings but I managed to take some good pictures, the fine details in the medals come out. As you can see the small lions on the silver buttons are also visible. Kind regards, Laurentius

Thank you for the help, I'll be sure to contact the auctioneer. I believe this was the third time it went up for auction. There was plenty of interest, also from my side, however the starting bid had been too high the first two tries to make it a good deal. It now hangs safely in my room next to other paintings of it's kind. Would there be anyone who can shed some light on the uniform (rank for example, or precise timeperiod) Kind regards, and thanks in advance, Laurentius

Dear fellow collectors, I was fortunate enough to buy a new painting for my collection at the latest HH auction on the tenth of december. I was wondering if there was a possibility for identification. If not for the person painted, than atleast for his rank. His shoulderboards are covered by something I can only describe as a fur or black coat (painted much in the same manner as the famous portrait of Gerhard von Scharnhorst). Both his cuffs and his litzen are a somewhat faded red (I plan to have it cleaned after the holidays by a specialist, which might reveal a darker shade) with silver thread. Both the two silver buttons on his cuffs and the four buttons on his chest all have a right-facing lion on them. It looks like this lion might perhaps be holding a sword, although I'm not sure of that. He is wearing three decorations: Königlicher Ludwigs-Orden, goldener Militär Verdienstmedaille and the Militärdenkzeichen für 1813,1814,1815. It was painted atleast after 1827, when the Ludwigs-Orden was instated. Please see the images attached, due to my bad camera I have also enclosed the picture used by the auctionhouse. All help would be greatly appreciated. If necessary I will try to take more pictures. Kind regards and thanks in advance, Laurentius

That would make me atleast 82 years old ?. No, my dad is a normal guy in his fifties who got an award from the Polish state in 2012 for his services in the Worker's Union.

Very interesting, I saw the medalbar on the Instagram page of a tailor who also happened to have made my dad's medalbar. Good to know it now rests safely in the National Military Museum. Kind regards, Laurentius

The medalbar is not in my possession, I hope I have not given that impression.

Dear fellow collectors, I came across this medalbar (see image attached) which supposedly belonged to Marius Cornelis van Houten. Given the somewhat unusual combination I wondered if the identification has been correct. He lived from 1879 untill 1953 and he had some pretty high-end jobs during the interbellum period so the combination could be possible. Would any of the collectors of Dutch medals be able to weigh in on this one? Kind regards and thanks in advance, Laurentius

Both his uniform and decorations point to Württemberg

I don't really recognize it Chris, although I assume something Thuringian perhaps

Thank you Sandro Isn't it weird that someone got the MMJO before the BMVO? Although, the date given in the document is 1915, the bestowel likely happened a few years later, as was often the case. Are there any WW1 pictures of him? Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear Deutschritter, the list seems to be accurate, given his medalbar. Does anyone know when he was awarded the MMJO? Was it before or after the BMVO3x? Kind regards, Laurentius

Thank you Spolei. Von Leeb was born in 1877 and served from early adolescence if I'm not mistaken, didn't he have some pre-war awards, apart from the BLJM? Kind regards, Laurentius

Maybe we can buy some stuff in bulk

Dear Johan, Would you also happen to know what is being done with all the left-over decorations? Sweden like most European countries demands their decorations back and I suppose most recipients since 1974 have died. Are the orders being melted down or are they stored for later? Kind regards and thanks in advance, Laurentius

Thank you Johan for this short but clear explanation, you've cleared it all up for me. Kind regards and thanks again, Laurentius

Thank you Alex, that's a great start. If I'm not mistaken the HoHx and the MMJO seem to be gold, whereas the BMVO4/3x seems to be silver-gilt? Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear fellow collectors, Could any of the more knowledgeable collectors explain why some Swedish Orders have gone dormant during the seventies? Was there a definite choice not to award them any longer without disbanding the order or have their simply not been any people eligible? Does it have to do with costs perhaps? Kind regards and thanks in advance, Laurentius