Exceptional cross of the Order of Saint Michael belonging to Johan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen, knighted in 1650. From the Philippe Missillier collection, Giquello Auction House, Drouot - rooms 5-6, on the 6th and 7th of March 2025.
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PHILIPPE MISSILLIER COLLECTION
EARLY PERIOD - BOOKS - 17TH CENTURY FIREARMS
HUNTING ART - PHALERISTICS
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 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
Lot no. 2002 389
CONTACT
Claire Richon
+33(0)1 47 70 48 00
c.richon@giquello.net
EXPERT
Jean-Christophe Palthey, SFEP Expert
+41 (0)79 107 89 96
jc.palthey@gmail.com
Lot no. 176 (of the sale)
Exceptional Cross of the Order of Saint-Michel by Johan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen, knight in 1650
Gold cross with eight lobed points, with branches enameled in opaque white with reserves chiseled with flames enameled in translucent green, angled with oblong fleur-de-lis with horizontal green enameled bars. The medallion presents on both faces, at the center of a blue cloud, a finely enameled raised group composed of a blue-armored Saint Michael, with green wings, subduing a pale green demon with yellow spots. A simple flat ring fixed between the upper points forms a bail allowing for the passage of a strong suspension ring.
With two handwritten documents: the appointment letter on paper addressed to the recipient and the commission on sealed vellum, addressed to Sir Brasset, ambassador in Holland to deliver the collar. Each signed by Louis (secretary) and dated June 22, 1650, in Compiègne.
Perfect state of preservation.
H. 72 mm – W. 64 mm - Weight: 52.05 g
France, mid-17th century.
Exceptional Cross of the Order
Estimate: €60,000-€80,000
Kept in a black chagrin case with the arms of France of later manufacture.
Provenance:
- Johan Huydecoper, then by descent.
- Sotheby's, London, November 5, 1986, lot no. 974.
Text of the appointment letter:
Mr. Huydecoper de Marceven. Having chosen and elected in the Assembly of the Knights of my order of St. Michel to enter and be associated with the aforementioned order, I have commissioned and deputed Sir Brasset, councillor of my State Council and Resident for my service in Holland to give you the collar on my behalf with the usual forms and Ceremonies. I am sending you this letter to inform you so that you may present yourself to him on the day and place he will indicate to you to receive this honor. Asking God to keep you, Mr. Huydecoper de Marceven, in his Holy guard. In Compiègne, the 22nd of June 1650.
Louis
Johan Huydecoper, lord of Maarsseveen (1599-1661), symbolizes the prosperity and golden age of the Netherlands. An influential businessman, several times mayor of the city of Amsterdam, administrator of the Dutch East India Company, urban planner, architect, and patron of the arts, he was named a knight of the Order of Saint-Michel by Louis XIV on June 22, 1650. Received into the order on March 2, 1651, in The Hague, by Sir Brasset, State Councilor representing the king to the United Provinces of the Netherlands, commissioned for this purpose. He was decorated with an enameled gold cross.
This cross is a novelty, breaking with the archaic medallion worn since the founding of the order by Louis XI in 1469; the knights of the Order of Saint-Michel adopted in the first half of the 17th century a more modern and flattering cross imitated from that of the Order of the Holy Spirit established by Henri III in 1578. The knights of this new order, also knights of that of Saint-Michel, wore a cross adorned in its center with a dove on the obverse and a medallion of Saint-Michel on the reverse. The knights of Saint-Michel thus only had to take up this cross, placing Saint Michel on both faces. This practice is attested by Marc Vulson de la Colombière who recounts in Le vray théâtre d'honneur et de chevalerie his reception in the Order of Saint-Michel in 1643. It was formalized by Louis XIV in 1661 and 1665 during the major reforms of the Order of Saint-Michel. The statutes of 1665 stipulated in article 9 that the cross should be half the size of that of the Holy Spirit.
Only two other crosses attributed with certainty to knights of the Order of Saint-Michel in the 17th century seem to have survived. Also attributed to the Dutch, they are now kept by public institutions in the Netherlands: one attributed in 1657 to Hendrick de Sandra (1619-1707), governor of the fortress of Deventer (Foundation for the Support of the Chancery of Dutch Orders, inv. E262); the other presented in 1662 to Cornelis Lampsins (1600-1664) displayed at the Rijksmuseum (inv. NG-385).
Bibliography:
- COLLIGNON, Jean-Pierre, Ordres de chevalerie, décorations et médailles de France, 2004, this copy illustrated pp. 26-27.
- DUTHEIL, Tom, METAY, Marc, L’ordre de Saint-Michel et l’essor du pouvoir royal, Éditions Pierre de Taillac, Paris, 2023, this copy illustrated p.119.
- VULSON DE LA COLOMBIERE, Marc, Le vray théâtre d'honneur et de chevalerie, Augustin Courbe, Paris 1648.
EARLY PERIOD - BOOKS - 17TH CENTURY FIREARMS
HUNTING ART - PHALERISTICS
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 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
Lot no. 2002 389
CONTACT
Claire Richon
+33(0)1 47 70 48 00
c.richon@giquello.net
EXPERT
Jean-Christophe Palthey, SFEP Expert
+41 (0)79 107 89 96
jc.palthey@gmail.com
Lot no. 176 (of the sale)
Exceptional Cross of the Order of Saint-Michel by Johan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen, knight in 1650
Gold cross with eight lobed points, with branches enameled in opaque white with reserves chiseled with flames enameled in translucent green, angled with oblong fleur-de-lis with horizontal green enameled bars. The medallion presents on both faces, at the center of a blue cloud, a finely enameled raised group composed of a blue-armored Saint Michael, with green wings, subduing a pale green demon with yellow spots. A simple flat ring fixed between the upper points forms a bail allowing for the passage of a strong suspension ring.
With two handwritten documents: the appointment letter on paper addressed to the recipient and the commission on sealed vellum, addressed to Sir Brasset, ambassador in Holland to deliver the collar. Each signed by Louis (secretary) and dated June 22, 1650, in Compiègne.
Perfect state of preservation.
H. 72 mm – W. 64 mm - Weight: 52.05 g
France, mid-17th century.
Exceptional Cross of the Order
Estimate: €60,000-€80,000
Kept in a black chagrin case with the arms of France of later manufacture.
Provenance:
- Johan Huydecoper, then by descent.
- Sotheby's, London, November 5, 1986, lot no. 974.
Text of the appointment letter:
Mr. Huydecoper de Marceven. Having chosen and elected in the Assembly of the Knights of my order of St. Michel to enter and be associated with the aforementioned order, I have commissioned and deputed Sir Brasset, councillor of my State Council and Resident for my service in Holland to give you the collar on my behalf with the usual forms and Ceremonies. I am sending you this letter to inform you so that you may present yourself to him on the day and place he will indicate to you to receive this honor. Asking God to keep you, Mr. Huydecoper de Marceven, in his Holy guard. In Compiègne, the 22nd of June 1650.
Louis
Johan Huydecoper, lord of Maarsseveen (1599-1661), symbolizes the prosperity and golden age of the Netherlands. An influential businessman, several times mayor of the city of Amsterdam, administrator of the Dutch East India Company, urban planner, architect, and patron of the arts, he was named a knight of the Order of Saint-Michel by Louis XIV on June 22, 1650. Received into the order on March 2, 1651, in The Hague, by Sir Brasset, State Councilor representing the king to the United Provinces of the Netherlands, commissioned for this purpose. He was decorated with an enameled gold cross.
This cross is a novelty, breaking with the archaic medallion worn since the founding of the order by Louis XI in 1469; the knights of the Order of Saint-Michel adopted in the first half of the 17th century a more modern and flattering cross imitated from that of the Order of the Holy Spirit established by Henri III in 1578. The knights of this new order, also knights of that of Saint-Michel, wore a cross adorned in its center with a dove on the obverse and a medallion of Saint-Michel on the reverse. The knights of Saint-Michel thus only had to take up this cross, placing Saint Michel on both faces. This practice is attested by Marc Vulson de la Colombière who recounts in Le vray théâtre d'honneur et de chevalerie his reception in the Order of Saint-Michel in 1643. It was formalized by Louis XIV in 1661 and 1665 during the major reforms of the Order of Saint-Michel. The statutes of 1665 stipulated in article 9 that the cross should be half the size of that of the Holy Spirit.
Only two other crosses attributed with certainty to knights of the Order of Saint-Michel in the 17th century seem to have survived. Also attributed to the Dutch, they are now kept by public institutions in the Netherlands: one attributed in 1657 to Hendrick de Sandra (1619-1707), governor of the fortress of Deventer (Foundation for the Support of the Chancery of Dutch Orders, inv. E262); the other presented in 1662 to Cornelis Lampsins (1600-1664) displayed at the Rijksmuseum (inv. NG-385).
Bibliography:
- COLLIGNON, Jean-Pierre, Ordres de chevalerie, décorations et médailles de France, 2004, this copy illustrated pp. 26-27.
- DUTHEIL, Tom, METAY, Marc, L’ordre de Saint-Michel et l’essor du pouvoir royal, Éditions Pierre de Taillac, Paris, 2023, this copy illustrated p.119.
- VULSON DE LA COLOMBIERE, Marc, Le vray théâtre d'honneur et de chevalerie, Augustin Courbe, Paris 1648.
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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