Significant engraved mother-of-pearl shell, decorated in honor of the shipment of the Berretone and Stocco to the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, Emmanuel Pinto, by Pope Benedict XIV in 1747. From the Philippe Missillier Collection, Giquello Auction House, Drouot - rooms 5-6, March 6th and 7th, 2025.
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PHILIPPE MISSILLIER COLLECTION
EARLY PERIOD – BOOKS – 17TH CENTURY FIREARMS
HUNTING ART – ORDERS AND DECORATIONS
18TH AND 19TH CENTURY WEAPONS – RUSSIAN ART
Friday, March 7, 2025 - 11am to 12pm
AFRICA AND OCEANIA – FAR EAST
Friday, March 7, 2025 - 2pm
ISLAMIC AND INDIAN ART
Drouot - rooms 5-6
EXHIBITION
Tuesday, March 4 from 11am to 6pm
Wednesday, March 5 from 11am to 6pm
Thursday, March 6 from 11am to 12pm
Phone during the exhibition +33(0)1 48 00 20 05
GIQUELLO
Alexandre Giquello
Violette Stcherbatcheff
5, rue La Boétie - 75008 Paris
+33 (0)1 47 42 78 01 - info@giquello.net
Subject to approval
No. 2002 389
CONTACT
Claire Richon
+33(0)1 47 70 48 00
c.richon@giquello.net
EXPERT
Jean-Christophe Palthey Expert SFEP
+41 (0)79 107 89 96
jc.palthey@gmail.com
Lot No. 174 (from the sale)
Important engraved nautilus shell decorated in honor of the sending of the Berretone and Stocco to the Grand Master of
the Order of Malta Emmanuel Pinto by Pope Benedict XIV in 1747
Large nautilus shell partially treated as a cameo depicting the Grand Master seated on a throne, in black robe and mantle of the Religion adorned with the eight-pointed cross, topped by a canopy adorned with his coat of arms supported by two putti and crowned, with arms resting on volute armrests, facing to his right, looking at a royal crown with eight closed arches topped with a cruciferous orb, placed next to a scepter or baton of command on a table with a swirling base. At his feet, four black slaves with their arms tied behind them face each other on the steps of the platform. An architectural vaults decor adorned with curtains is engraved on either side of the canopy, revealing: on the left, a fleet consisting of a two-deck ship and four galleys of the order in front of an oriental fort, on the right, a dead person under a lamp, a symbol found on the order's counter-seal. It is set in a bronze band engraved with the legend F. DON. EMMANUEL. PINTO. MELITÆ. PRINCEPS. S.R.I.M.M. REGIA. CORONA. SACRISQVE. PILEO. ET. ENSE.
A. SVMMO. PONTIFICE. DECORATVS. M.DCCXLVII. (Fra Don Emmanuel Pinto, Prince of Malta, Grand Master of the Sacred Religion of Jerusalem, decorated by the Sovereign Pontiff with a royal crown, hat, and blessed rapier in 1747). On the back of the shell, there is a poetic dedication in Latin by Fra Francesco Caterino de Nobili to the Grand Master. The nautilus shell and band are mounted on an openwork brass plate shaped like volutes, decorated with engraved nautilus vines and partially dyed red order flags, forming a wide frame resting on two cannons and adorned at the top with two laurel branches tied on which the Stocco surmounted by the Berretone framed by two flamed trumpets in the order's colors rest. Above, a black satin bow, adorned with a white eight-pointed cross, holds the whole in an elongated octagonal lacquered black paper-covered box with embossed branch decoration, the raised corners lined with a border of gilded paper with fleuron and palmette motifs, the lid adorned with a white Maltese cross bordered in gold paper. Remnants of an old inventory label, N21.
Wear, small scattered damages to the nautilus and the cover.
Diameter of the shell 13.2 cm, of the frame: 15.2 cm
Dimension of the case: 37 x 32 cm
Italy, Trapani (?), mid-18th century.
1230(B) CH
4,000/6,000 €
Exhibition:
- Provence and the Order of Malta, Marseille, May-June 1981, Gap, July-August 1981, no. 59.
The Berretone, a ducal hat, and the Stocco, a blessed rapier, were pontifical honors known to be used since the 14th century. Blessed on Christmas night by the Pope, they were then given to a Dux, a sovereign and military leader: emperor, king, or prince as a token of gratitude or emulation. If not awarded within the year, they were blessed again the following year, awaiting a deserving Dux. The hat, in the form of a rounded cylinder with a double visor and two tails, was made of velvet embroidered with gold and adorned with a large pearl dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit. The Stocco was a long two-handed sword, the handle highly ornate, the blade engraved with the name of the Pontiff and the blessing date, the scabbard also in velvet embroidered with gold. The highest pontifical military honor, only six Berretone and Stocco were awarded in the 18th century, four of which to Grand Masters of the Order of Malta. The first three are known for certain: Antonio Manoel Vilhena in 1725, Manuel Pinto de Fonseca in 1747, and Francisco Ximenes de Texada in 1774. The fourth attribution, while only supported by the presence in the order's collections of a ducal hat and a blessed rapier dated 1775 without written documentation, could have been given to Emmanuel de Rohan Polduc in 1775 or more likely to Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim in 1798.
This luxurious work of art was likely made in Sicily in Trapani, the city where the commissioner Fra Francesco Caterino de Nobili, a receiver of the Order of Malta, was from. A glorification of the presentation of high military symbols to Grand Master Pinto by the Pope, it is primarily a manifesto of the order's temporal sovereignty. Emphasizing the closed crown above the Grand Master's coat of arms, but particularly its presence on a table by his side, symbolically illustrates the assertion of this authority that is manifested throughout the 18th century through the order's tireless efforts to be recognized as a sovereign state, notably through diplomatic honors. Fra Francesco Caterino de Nobili (1692-1769), a knight since the age of 5, first commander of Saint-Paris de Teano in the priory of Capua, then of Saint-Jean in Genoa, Bailiff of Sainte-Euphémie, general visitor of the priory of Messina, was also a receiver of the order in Trapani and a poet.
Manuel Pinto de Fonseca (1681-1773), a knight since the age of 2 and a page to the Grand Master at 11, was elected the 68th Grand Master of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, known as Malta, in 1741. He passed away after a 31-year reign, having never left the island of Malta. He was the first to use the title Eminent Highness and the closed crowns of sovereign princes that were later worn by his successors and adorned the crosses worn by the knights.
Bibliography:
- BERTHOD, Bernard, BLANCHARD, Pierre, Unknown Treasures of the Vatican, CLD Editions, Paris, 2021.
- DELAVILLE LE ROUX, Joseph, Note on the seals of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, in Miscellaneous on the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Alphonse Picard, Paris, 1910.
- DI FERRO, Giuseppe, Biografia degli uomini illustri trapanesi, Volume IV, Pietro Colajanni, Trapani, 1850.
- HENNERESSE, Dominique, Orders and Decorations of the Holy See, Vatican Publishing House, Vatican City, 2019, pp. 262-263.
- RAYNAUD, Félix, VILLARD, Madeleine, RAMIERE DE FORTANIER, Arnaud, Provence and the Order of Malta, Municipal Printing Office, Marseille, 1981, illustrated p. 24.
EARLY PERIOD – BOOKS – 17TH CENTURY FIREARMS
HUNTING ART – ORDERS AND DECORATIONS
18TH AND 19TH CENTURY WEAPONS – RUSSIAN ART
Friday, March 7, 2025 - 11am to 12pm
AFRICA AND OCEANIA – FAR EAST
Friday, March 7, 2025 - 2pm
ISLAMIC AND INDIAN ART
Drouot - rooms 5-6
EXHIBITION
Tuesday, March 4 from 11am to 6pm
Wednesday, March 5 from 11am to 6pm
Thursday, March 6 from 11am to 12pm
Phone during the exhibition +33(0)1 48 00 20 05
GIQUELLO
Alexandre Giquello
Violette Stcherbatcheff
5, rue La Boétie - 75008 Paris
+33 (0)1 47 42 78 01 - info@giquello.net
Subject to approval
No. 2002 389
CONTACT
Claire Richon
+33(0)1 47 70 48 00
c.richon@giquello.net
EXPERT
Jean-Christophe Palthey Expert SFEP
+41 (0)79 107 89 96
jc.palthey@gmail.com
Lot No. 174 (from the sale)
Important engraved nautilus shell decorated in honor of the sending of the Berretone and Stocco to the Grand Master of
the Order of Malta Emmanuel Pinto by Pope Benedict XIV in 1747
Large nautilus shell partially treated as a cameo depicting the Grand Master seated on a throne, in black robe and mantle of the Religion adorned with the eight-pointed cross, topped by a canopy adorned with his coat of arms supported by two putti and crowned, with arms resting on volute armrests, facing to his right, looking at a royal crown with eight closed arches topped with a cruciferous orb, placed next to a scepter or baton of command on a table with a swirling base. At his feet, four black slaves with their arms tied behind them face each other on the steps of the platform. An architectural vaults decor adorned with curtains is engraved on either side of the canopy, revealing: on the left, a fleet consisting of a two-deck ship and four galleys of the order in front of an oriental fort, on the right, a dead person under a lamp, a symbol found on the order's counter-seal. It is set in a bronze band engraved with the legend F. DON. EMMANUEL. PINTO. MELITÆ. PRINCEPS. S.R.I.M.M. REGIA. CORONA. SACRISQVE. PILEO. ET. ENSE.
A. SVMMO. PONTIFICE. DECORATVS. M.DCCXLVII. (Fra Don Emmanuel Pinto, Prince of Malta, Grand Master of the Sacred Religion of Jerusalem, decorated by the Sovereign Pontiff with a royal crown, hat, and blessed rapier in 1747). On the back of the shell, there is a poetic dedication in Latin by Fra Francesco Caterino de Nobili to the Grand Master. The nautilus shell and band are mounted on an openwork brass plate shaped like volutes, decorated with engraved nautilus vines and partially dyed red order flags, forming a wide frame resting on two cannons and adorned at the top with two laurel branches tied on which the Stocco surmounted by the Berretone framed by two flamed trumpets in the order's colors rest. Above, a black satin bow, adorned with a white eight-pointed cross, holds the whole in an elongated octagonal lacquered black paper-covered box with embossed branch decoration, the raised corners lined with a border of gilded paper with fleuron and palmette motifs, the lid adorned with a white Maltese cross bordered in gold paper. Remnants of an old inventory label, N21.
Wear, small scattered damages to the nautilus and the cover.
Diameter of the shell 13.2 cm, of the frame: 15.2 cm
Dimension of the case: 37 x 32 cm
Italy, Trapani (?), mid-18th century.
1230(B) CH
4,000/6,000 €
Exhibition:
- Provence and the Order of Malta, Marseille, May-June 1981, Gap, July-August 1981, no. 59.
The Berretone, a ducal hat, and the Stocco, a blessed rapier, were pontifical honors known to be used since the 14th century. Blessed on Christmas night by the Pope, they were then given to a Dux, a sovereign and military leader: emperor, king, or prince as a token of gratitude or emulation. If not awarded within the year, they were blessed again the following year, awaiting a deserving Dux. The hat, in the form of a rounded cylinder with a double visor and two tails, was made of velvet embroidered with gold and adorned with a large pearl dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit. The Stocco was a long two-handed sword, the handle highly ornate, the blade engraved with the name of the Pontiff and the blessing date, the scabbard also in velvet embroidered with gold. The highest pontifical military honor, only six Berretone and Stocco were awarded in the 18th century, four of which to Grand Masters of the Order of Malta. The first three are known for certain: Antonio Manoel Vilhena in 1725, Manuel Pinto de Fonseca in 1747, and Francisco Ximenes de Texada in 1774. The fourth attribution, while only supported by the presence in the order's collections of a ducal hat and a blessed rapier dated 1775 without written documentation, could have been given to Emmanuel de Rohan Polduc in 1775 or more likely to Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim in 1798.
This luxurious work of art was likely made in Sicily in Trapani, the city where the commissioner Fra Francesco Caterino de Nobili, a receiver of the Order of Malta, was from. A glorification of the presentation of high military symbols to Grand Master Pinto by the Pope, it is primarily a manifesto of the order's temporal sovereignty. Emphasizing the closed crown above the Grand Master's coat of arms, but particularly its presence on a table by his side, symbolically illustrates the assertion of this authority that is manifested throughout the 18th century through the order's tireless efforts to be recognized as a sovereign state, notably through diplomatic honors. Fra Francesco Caterino de Nobili (1692-1769), a knight since the age of 5, first commander of Saint-Paris de Teano in the priory of Capua, then of Saint-Jean in Genoa, Bailiff of Sainte-Euphémie, general visitor of the priory of Messina, was also a receiver of the order in Trapani and a poet.
Manuel Pinto de Fonseca (1681-1773), a knight since the age of 2 and a page to the Grand Master at 11, was elected the 68th Grand Master of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, known as Malta, in 1741. He passed away after a 31-year reign, having never left the island of Malta. He was the first to use the title Eminent Highness and the closed crowns of sovereign princes that were later worn by his successors and adorned the crosses worn by the knights.
Bibliography:
- BERTHOD, Bernard, BLANCHARD, Pierre, Unknown Treasures of the Vatican, CLD Editions, Paris, 2021.
- DELAVILLE LE ROUX, Joseph, Note on the seals of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, in Miscellaneous on the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Alphonse Picard, Paris, 1910.
- DI FERRO, Giuseppe, Biografia degli uomini illustri trapanesi, Volume IV, Pietro Colajanni, Trapani, 1850.
- HENNERESSE, Dominique, Orders and Decorations of the Holy See, Vatican Publishing House, Vatican City, 2019, pp. 262-263.
- RAYNAUD, Félix, VILLARD, Madeleine, RAMIERE DE FORTANIER, Arnaud, Provence and the Order of Malta, Municipal Printing Office, Marseille, 1981, illustrated p. 24.
Reference :
Étude Giquello, Drouot - salles 5-6, les 6 & 7 mars 2025
Next update Friday, april 4th at 1:30 PM
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bertrand.malvaux@wanadoo.fr 06 07 75 74 63
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