The Spada collection

The mythic insignia of the Order of the Elephant is of the utmost rarity in a private collection as upon the knight’s death the families had to return it to the Order’s Chancellery.

The Golden Rose is one of the highest honorary distinctions of the Catholic Church. Pope Leon XIII (1878-1903) gave this one to Isabel of Braganza-Orleans, Princess Imperial of Brazil and Countess of Eu, regent of the Brazilian empire, for abolishing slavery on May 13, 1888.

This spectacular Grand Cross badge belonged to the House of Barberini, a great Italian aristocratic family, and is still in its original jewel case made of morocco leather with gilt tooling.

The badge unites three orders into one: those of the Grand Cross of the Orders of Christ, of Aviz and of Saint James of the Sword. It is reserved for the monarch, Grand Master of the three military orders, and for foreign kings and princes. This badge comes from the estate of Manuel II of Braganza (1889-1932), King of Portugal (1908-1910).

This collar, kept in its original case, was worn by Luitpold, Duke in Bavaria (1890-1973) and nephew of the Empress Elisabeth of Austria (“Sissi”).

Maximilien de Wittelsbach Deux-Ponts was the first King of Bavaria to use the name Maximilien I. This bar is composed of the miniatures of the orders of Saint Michel (Bavaria), Saint Andrew (Russia) and of the Lion of Palatinat (Bavaria).

Martin Guillaume Biennais – Gold, silver and enamel; the jewel case is in red morocco leather. – Beginning 19th century. This ensemble is doubly precious because of the quality of the workmanship of among the very first metallic badges imagined by the goldsmith Biennais and because of the rarity of the two orders received by the Prince de Béthune, Lieutenant General of the King’s army in the 18th century.

This collar is exceptional because of the date of its creation. It was made in 1797, the year of the publication of the statutes of the Order of Saint Andrew; it is one of the first regulatory collars the Emperor of Russia conferred to the knights.

This very prestigious insignia of function was awarded to a rare handful of generals and admirals who distinguished themselves sufficiently to receive the honorific rank of Gensui. Only sixteen general officers were awarded between 1898, the time of the first promotion, and 1944, time of the last nomination.

Nasseral-Din Shah was at the source of the modernization of Iran. He created the decoration of the imperial portrait in 1956 in order to replace the Lion and Sun insignia. It can thus be considered to be the highest class of this last order.

This recent order, whose name signifies “friends of the king”, is the highest of the orders of Thailand. It is reserved for foreign sovereigns and heads of states and since its creation in 1962 by Rama IX, the current king of Thailand, can only account for about fifty recipients.

Founded in 1878 by the Sultan Abdul-Hamid II (1876-1909), this insignia order, the highest of the Ottoman Empire, disappeared in 1922. It was attributed with the greatest parsimony and can only account for about one hundred recipients.