Papal Order of St. Gregory the Great

[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

[922F]

Arms displayed on Papal award case lids usually indicate Pope reigning when award granted.  Arms on this case lid belong to Benedict XV (Giacomo della Chiesa, 1914-1922).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_armorial  seems useful in identify Papal arms.  

Tanfani and Bertarelli marked their products with letters that indicate metals used.  Capital "A" means silver [as on your badge wreath] and capital "O" means gold.   Sometimes crosses may be gold and suspensions silver and quite rarely vice versa.  Sectional crosses, as your's seems to be, often are gold.

Look closely at enamel damage on the reverse central medallion.  Examination may reveal whether underlying metal is silver gilt or gold.

 

Edited January 13, 2021 by 922F
spelchek

[laurentius]

Thank you very much 922F, your answer helped me greatly. I'll check the damage on the reverse medaillon in the morning.

Thanks again, Laurentius

[922F]

You are most certainly welcome.  Many have benefited from your posts so a pleasure to 'repay' somewhat.

[laurentius]

14 hours ago, 922F said:

Examination may reveal whether underlying metal is silver gilt or gold.

I looked at it and compared it to other gold pieces I have which have brought me to the conclusion that it is indeed silver-gilt.

Kind regards, Laurentius

[Graf]

On 14/01/2021 at 05:43, 922F said:

Arms displayed on Papal award case lids usually indicate Pope reigning when award granted.  Arms on this case lid belong to Benedict XV (Giacomo della Chiesa, 1914-1922).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_armorial  seems useful in identify Papal arms.  

Tanfani and Bertarelli marked their products with letters that indicate metals used.  Capital "A" means silver [as on your badge wreath] and capital "O" means gold.   Sometimes crosses may be gold and suspensions silver and quite rarely vice versa.  Sectional crosses, as your's seems to be, often are gold.

Look closely at enamel damage on the reverse central medallion.  Examination may reveal whether underlying metal is silver gilt or gold.

 

I  agree it is gilded silver +A" means silver

 

Here is French made gilded silver Commander