Ring of loyalty of the company of the "Horse Grenadiers" of the King's Military Household, belonging to J. Bondele, Restoration era.
Sold out
LOYALTY RING OF THE COMPANY OF THE "GRENADIERS À CHEVAL" OF THE KING'S MILITARY HOUSE, BELONGING TO J. BONDELE, RESTORATION PERIOD.
Ring of the Company of the "Grenadiers à cheval". Gilt copper, decorated with foliage and coats of arms. Silver setting featuring a flaming grenade with the motto "Undique teror", "Undique lethum" and "Honour and Fidelity" in coats of arms (partially engraved). Inside, two crossed hands and engraved "Mis de la Rochejaquelein" and "Bondele. J. 1815".
Good condition, signs of wear.
France.
Restoration Period.
HISTORY:
Amidst the unexpected return of the Emperor to France in February 1815, Louis XVIII left Paris for Ghent.
The rings with two swords:
As the Royal Army soldiers who followed Louis XVIII to Belgium received a certificate signed by the Duke of Berry, confirming their participation in that army. The officers decided to have a ring made featuring two crossed swords with the motto: "my life to the king, my heart to the ladies." These rings were executed to include the initials of the royal family: L, MT, P, A, F, C (Louis XVIII, Marie-Thérèse Duchess of Angoulême, Louis-Philippe Duke of Orléans, Antoine Duke of Angoulême, Ferdinand Duke of Berry, Charles, Count of Artois). Additionally, the name of the recipient, along with the date and location of crossing the border, was engraved. These rings were crafted by Mr. Brechemin, a jeweler at the Palais-Royal, gallery of the Bons-Enfants, n° 128, with a register to prevent errors. The rings were only made or given upon presentation of the certificate.
- One ring belonged to Jacques Brasseur, artillery conductor in the companies of the King's Bodyguards. It is dated on the setting: Ghent, March 17, 1815, with the interior engraved "Brasseur Jacques artillery conductor of the Royal Guard" along with a coat of arms bearing the initials: L, M.T, P, A, F, C.
- Another ring is dated March 25, 1815, with the setting in the shape of a small hinged oval box serving as a reliquary, inscribed "Mis de Monpezat, Major staff officer of the Gre," with the coat of arms in the form of a heart-shaped escutcheon displaying the capital letters L. MT. P. A. F. Similar to another ring from March 1815, which belonged to Gérard de Contamine d’Arimont, a King's Bodyguard.
- A ring from the same model originating from the Valles (or d’Hozier) family has the setting as a small reliquary box, dated "Ypres March 25, 1815."
- An example from the former Thierry Marais collection attributed to a King's Bodyguard.
- Three other examples in a private collection.
- A ring attributed to G.M.G. Herman, inscribed around the setting "GHENT. May 3, 1815."
- A ring given to Louis François Xavier Duliège d’Aunis (or d’Arrest), light horseman of the King's Military House, awarded on May 24, 1815 (private collection).
- A ring given to Ferdinand de Cacheleu (1784), a King's Bodyguard, at "GHENT, May 28, 1815."
- A ring given to Chevalier de Canolle dated "Ghent / March 1815," featuring a miniature of Louis XVIII at the bottom of the setting.
- Two rings given to Viscount d’Hardouineau, aide-de-camp of Louis XVIII, King's Bodyguard, one dated May 24, 1815, and the other on May 25, 1815 in Ypres.
The specific rings for the King's House:
According to Gabriel Cottreau in 1904, during the Restoration, military personnel wore rings to commemorate their service in a corps or a campaign, beginning in the King's House and spreading to the Red companies: gendarmes, light horsemen, musketeers, and the company of grenadiers à cheval, especially when these units were disbanded. Upon disbandment of Louis XVIII's Red House, the officers of the companies received, as a rallying sign, a gold ring with the company's distinctive emblem on the setting. The musketeer rings were adorned with the cross of each company, with the number 1 or 2 at the center of the cross; for the gendarmes, Jupiter's spindle was adorned with the company's motto "Quo jubet iratus Jupiter"; for the light horsemen, the fleur-de-lis thunderbolt with the motto "Sensère Gigantes" and below it, the establishment date of the company "1593"; the ring for the grenadiers à cheval was in silver or gilt with a flaming grenade.
These rings are rare; thanks to the prestigious Raoul and Jean Brunon collections acquired by the state in 1967, the Army Museum holds a grenadiers à cheval ring in its collection (currently on display at the Château de l’Empéri in Salon de Provence); a second example was reproduced in the early issues of La Sabretache (possibly the same from the Brunon collection). Gabriel Cottreau mentioned that in his paternal family, they had a great-uncle who was a musketeer in 1814 and 1815, where shortly before ceasing their service, the musketeers were presented by their leaders to the Duchess of Angoulême to bid their farewells. During this meeting, the princess brought trays of silver rings and distributed them to the musketeers. The ring remained by his descendants, featuring a shield-shaped setting with ornamental armorial bearings whose meaning has always eluded them.
Additional identical examples have been found belonging to the Grenadiers à Cheval: J. Bondele (silver setting) and J. Galabert (gilt setting); a ring that belonged to Louis Mougin, King's Bodyguard in 1822 (copper setting). A gilt bronze ring attributed to the grenadiers à cheval, with a circular setting adorned with a flaming grenade surrounded by the motto of the corps “Undique Terror, Undique Letum” (Everywhere terror, everywhere death), encircled by two cartouches engraved with “Honor” and “Fidelity,” with a relief faith design on the interior, originating from the Canolle family.
SOURCES:
- History of the King's Military House, Eugène Titeux, Paris, 1890.
- Military rings of 1815 and 1824, Gabriel Cottreau, Carnets de la Sabretache, Paris, March 1904.
- Rings in France throughout history, Maximin Deloche, Librairie de Paris, Firmin-Didot et Cie, 56 rue Jacob.
Ring of the Company of the "Grenadiers à cheval". Gilt copper, decorated with foliage and coats of arms. Silver setting featuring a flaming grenade with the motto "Undique teror", "Undique lethum" and "Honour and Fidelity" in coats of arms (partially engraved). Inside, two crossed hands and engraved "Mis de la Rochejaquelein" and "Bondele. J. 1815".
Good condition, signs of wear.
France.
Restoration Period.
HISTORY:
Amidst the unexpected return of the Emperor to France in February 1815, Louis XVIII left Paris for Ghent.
The rings with two swords:
As the Royal Army soldiers who followed Louis XVIII to Belgium received a certificate signed by the Duke of Berry, confirming their participation in that army. The officers decided to have a ring made featuring two crossed swords with the motto: "my life to the king, my heart to the ladies." These rings were executed to include the initials of the royal family: L, MT, P, A, F, C (Louis XVIII, Marie-Thérèse Duchess of Angoulême, Louis-Philippe Duke of Orléans, Antoine Duke of Angoulême, Ferdinand Duke of Berry, Charles, Count of Artois). Additionally, the name of the recipient, along with the date and location of crossing the border, was engraved. These rings were crafted by Mr. Brechemin, a jeweler at the Palais-Royal, gallery of the Bons-Enfants, n° 128, with a register to prevent errors. The rings were only made or given upon presentation of the certificate.
- One ring belonged to Jacques Brasseur, artillery conductor in the companies of the King's Bodyguards. It is dated on the setting: Ghent, March 17, 1815, with the interior engraved "Brasseur Jacques artillery conductor of the Royal Guard" along with a coat of arms bearing the initials: L, M.T, P, A, F, C.
- Another ring is dated March 25, 1815, with the setting in the shape of a small hinged oval box serving as a reliquary, inscribed "Mis de Monpezat, Major staff officer of the Gre," with the coat of arms in the form of a heart-shaped escutcheon displaying the capital letters L. MT. P. A. F. Similar to another ring from March 1815, which belonged to Gérard de Contamine d’Arimont, a King's Bodyguard.
- A ring from the same model originating from the Valles (or d’Hozier) family has the setting as a small reliquary box, dated "Ypres March 25, 1815."
- An example from the former Thierry Marais collection attributed to a King's Bodyguard.
- Three other examples in a private collection.
- A ring attributed to G.M.G. Herman, inscribed around the setting "GHENT. May 3, 1815."
- A ring given to Louis François Xavier Duliège d’Aunis (or d’Arrest), light horseman of the King's Military House, awarded on May 24, 1815 (private collection).
- A ring given to Ferdinand de Cacheleu (1784), a King's Bodyguard, at "GHENT, May 28, 1815."
- A ring given to Chevalier de Canolle dated "Ghent / March 1815," featuring a miniature of Louis XVIII at the bottom of the setting.
- Two rings given to Viscount d’Hardouineau, aide-de-camp of Louis XVIII, King's Bodyguard, one dated May 24, 1815, and the other on May 25, 1815 in Ypres.
The specific rings for the King's House:
According to Gabriel Cottreau in 1904, during the Restoration, military personnel wore rings to commemorate their service in a corps or a campaign, beginning in the King's House and spreading to the Red companies: gendarmes, light horsemen, musketeers, and the company of grenadiers à cheval, especially when these units were disbanded. Upon disbandment of Louis XVIII's Red House, the officers of the companies received, as a rallying sign, a gold ring with the company's distinctive emblem on the setting. The musketeer rings were adorned with the cross of each company, with the number 1 or 2 at the center of the cross; for the gendarmes, Jupiter's spindle was adorned with the company's motto "Quo jubet iratus Jupiter"; for the light horsemen, the fleur-de-lis thunderbolt with the motto "Sensère Gigantes" and below it, the establishment date of the company "1593"; the ring for the grenadiers à cheval was in silver or gilt with a flaming grenade.
These rings are rare; thanks to the prestigious Raoul and Jean Brunon collections acquired by the state in 1967, the Army Museum holds a grenadiers à cheval ring in its collection (currently on display at the Château de l’Empéri in Salon de Provence); a second example was reproduced in the early issues of La Sabretache (possibly the same from the Brunon collection). Gabriel Cottreau mentioned that in his paternal family, they had a great-uncle who was a musketeer in 1814 and 1815, where shortly before ceasing their service, the musketeers were presented by their leaders to the Duchess of Angoulême to bid their farewells. During this meeting, the princess brought trays of silver rings and distributed them to the musketeers. The ring remained by his descendants, featuring a shield-shaped setting with ornamental armorial bearings whose meaning has always eluded them.
Additional identical examples have been found belonging to the Grenadiers à Cheval: J. Bondele (silver setting) and J. Galabert (gilt setting); a ring that belonged to Louis Mougin, King's Bodyguard in 1822 (copper setting). A gilt bronze ring attributed to the grenadiers à cheval, with a circular setting adorned with a flaming grenade surrounded by the motto of the corps “Undique Terror, Undique Letum” (Everywhere terror, everywhere death), encircled by two cartouches engraved with “Honor” and “Fidelity,” with a relief faith design on the interior, originating from the Canolle family.
SOURCES:
- History of the King's Military House, Eugène Titeux, Paris, 1890.
- Military rings of 1815 and 1824, Gabriel Cottreau, Carnets de la Sabretache, Paris, March 1904.
- Rings in France throughout history, Maximin Deloche, Librairie de Paris, Firmin-Didot et Cie, 56 rue Jacob.
Reference :
6580
Next update Friday, novembre 29 at 1:30 PM
FOR ALL PURCHASES, PAYMENT IN MULTIPLE CHECKS POSSIBLE
bertrand.malvaux@wanadoo.fr 06 07 75 74 63
An authenticity certificate of the item including the description published on the site, the period, the sale price, accompanied by one or more color photographs is automatically provided for any item priced over 130 euros. Below this price, each certificate is charged 5 euros.
Only items sold by me are subject to an authenticity certificate, I do not provide any expert reports for items sold by third parties (colleagues or collectors).