Foreign Orders & Decorations - France : Order... Lot 31

Foreign Orders & Decorations - France : Order of the Holy Spirit (Ordre de Saint Esprit) - Order Cross. The Order's small gold and enamel. Specimen from the time of the restoration (1815-1830). The enamel with minor traces of wear and somewhat repaired in old time, overall in beautiful condition. This order cross is most likely one of the copies made by the Parisian jeweller Ouizille Lemoine by order of King Louis XVIII. Since the historical set of the Order of the Holy Spirit had been lost during the French Revolution, it became necessary at the beginning of the Bourbon Restoration after the fall of Emperor Napoleon to make almost all decorations of the Order anew. These were made first by the jeweller Coudray and then by Ouizille Lemoine. The Order of the Holy Spirit was founded in December 1578 by King Henry III of France of the House of Vallois. It was the first order of the French kingdom during the Ancien Régime until the French Revolution in 1789, and one of the most prestigious orders of chivalry in Europe. After the fall of Napoleon it was reinstated together with the other royal orders and kept its traditional position until the end of the Bourbon monarchy in 1830. The knights of this order always came from the reigning royal houses and the French and European high nobility. Very fine example of this important French order in best French jeweller's quality. 1-2