FRANCE – ORDRE DE SAINT MICHEL: Order jewel from the 1st half of the 17th century gold and enamel, natural pearls. The front with a finely executed, fully sculpted figure of Saint Michael in polychrome enamel. The surrounding medal chain with a black enamel background. The back also has a sculptural figure of a saint, but with a white enamel medal chain. In the suspension with a natural pearl, decorated at the bottom with three pendants, each with three pearls. King Louis XI founded this oldest of the great French knightly orders in Amboise on August 1, 1469 as an answer to the Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece. The purpose of the order was not least to strengthen the royal central authority at the expense of the power of the nobility. Accordingly, the Order of Michael was also under the grand mastery of the king, who, analogous to the Golden Fleece, had the title of Chef et Souverain. The knights of the order also had to take a personal oath to him. The knights wore a gold medal necklace made of knotted scallops, from which a medallion with Saint Michael hung. Originally, the Order of Michael only included representatives of the high nobility, such as the Dukes of Berry, Anjou, Bourbon and Orléans, who were related to the king, as well as members of the houses of Luxembourg, Laval, La Trémoille, Chabannes, Crussol, Rohan, Dunois, Melun and Artois. A King of Denmark and a King of Scotland were also included. Under Charles VIII, the proportion of foreign knights increased, among other things. by welcoming members of the Houses of Stuart and Savoy as well as the Venetian ambassador Luca Spinola. Originally the number of living members of the Order of St. Michael was limited to 31, then to 36. In 1565 the limit was officially raised to 50 in the wake of the Wars of Religion, and in 1578 to 100. In 1578 Henri III. the “Ordre du Saint-Esprit”. This was reserved for foreign ruling princes and the high nobility of France, including the royal princes. When appointed, its members automatically also belonged to the Order of Michael. Since the time of Louis XV, the Order of St. Michael has been increasingly open to writers, artists and civil servants. The order chain was only rarely worn. It was replaced by a black ribbon, which gave the order the name “cordon noir”. The Michael medallion was replaced by a gold enameled cross in the second half of the 17th century. In the course of the revolution, the Order of Michael was dissolved in 1791, like the other orders of the Ancien Régime. In 1814 it was briefly used during the Bourbon Restoration It was revived, but King Louis-Philippe finally abolished it in 1830. All of the order’s insignias from before 1700 have been preserved, only in extremely small numbers, which are comparable to the piece offered here In his standard work Ordres de Chévalerie – Décorations et Médailles de France, La Mothe – Achard, 2004, p. 26, Fig. 14, Collignon depicts various examples that are comparable to the piece offered here. Important, beautifully crafted, filigree medal of this important order of knights of exceptional rarity.