Item number: M424-2

Year: AD 1840-1866

Material: Gold

Size: 13.7 x 13.7 x 2.6 mm

Provenance: Auktionshavs Kendzia 2025

This Order of the Zähringer Lion miniature intended to be worn with civilian evening dress (such as a tailcoat).

The Order of the Zähringer Lion (Orden vom Zähringer Löwen)

The obverse centres on a gold-edged medallion depicting the ancestral Zähringen Castle, emblematic of the founding house. The four arms of the cross radiate equidistantly, their ends broader than their bases, and are filled with green, slightly domed glass enamel cut at an oblique angle at the extremities. The interstices between the cross arms are filled with foliate gold ornamentation. Unlike the full-size decorations, the foliate ornamentation here is reduced to outlines, the surfaces being flat and undecorated, perhaps owing to the miniature scale or to leave space for the setting of small diamonds.

The reverse medallion bears a gold lion rampant on a red enamel field, representing the Zähringen arms. Two suspension rings at the top allow the piece to hang from the support bar, the ribbon being sewn above in medal-bar form. The ribbon is green with a narrow yellow stripe near each edge.

Because this is a miniature, the precise class cannot be determined from suspension devices or dimensions. Its gold construction indicates at least the grade of Knight First Class (Ritterkreuz I. Klasse) or above; if originally set with diamonds, it may have represented Commander First Class in Diamonds (Kommandeur I. Klasse in Brillanten) or a higher grade.

The Order of the Zähringer Lion was instituted by Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Baden on AD 1812 December 26, the name day of his consort, Grand Duchess Stéphanie. It has long been regarded as one of the most aesthetically refined orders among the German states. From AD 1815 onwards, recipients who rendered outstanding service could receive a gold oak-leaf device engraved with the letter “L”, signifying Grand Duke Leopold, until Grand Duke Friedrich I abolished the “L” upon reforming the statutes in AD 1866. After AD 1866, crossed swords were added to denote awards for military merit.

When founded in AD 1812 the order had three classes: Grand Cross, Commander, and Knight. Subsequent reforms introduced subdivisions: in AD 1840 the Commander class was divided into First and Second Class, the former accompanied by a breast star; in AD 1866 the Knight class was likewise divided into First and Second Class. The Second-Class Knight’s badge was struck in silver, while the higher grades were made in gold. Around AD 1910 the Commander badges began to be manufactured in silver-gilt.

The German revolutions of AD 1848–1849 were a wave of liberal and nationalist movements that swept through the states of the German Confederation. Their origins lay in long-standing social and economic tensions in early nineteenth-century Europe: agrarian hardship, unemployment accompanying early industrialisation, the bourgeois demand for constitutional government and civil rights, and the immediate catalyst of the French February Revolution. The uprisings spread rapidly from March AD 1848—thus also known as the “March Revolution”—forcing rulers to accept liberal ministries, abolish censorship, and convene the Frankfurt National Assembly, which attempted to draft a constitution for a unified, constitutional German polity. Yet the revolution faltered as conservative forces regrouped, armies reasserted control, Prussia and Austria rejected the Assembly’s imperial plan, and deep divisions persisted within the revolutionary camp—between advocates of a Greater or Lesser Germany, and between republicans and constitutional monarchists. By late AD 1848 the movement was in retreat.

Baden had been regarded even before the revolution as the most constitutionally liberal state within the German Confederation, and its demands for a democratic republic proved particularly resolute. The first Baden uprising of AD 1848 began with military mutinies and democratic agitation but was swiftly suppressed after Prussian intervention. In spring AD 1849, following the rejection of the Frankfurt Constitution by most German states, Baden became the main centre of the “Imperial Constitution Campaign” (Reichsverfassungskampagne). Revolutionary forces and democrats seized power in Karlsruhe and Freiburg and sought to establish a republic; large portions of the Baden army defected to the revolutionaries, making Baden the most militarily significant revolutionary state. However, under overwhelming Prussian pressure the revolutionary armies were defeated in June and July, notably at Waghäusel and Rastatt. The fall of the Rastatt fortress on 23 July marked the definitive end of the Baden Revolution and the German revolutions of AD 1848–1849. After the defeat, many leaders were executed or fled to North America and Switzerland, and the revolutionary institutions were abolished.

Grand Duke Leopold I, who succeeded to the throne in AD 1830 after succession adjustments following the Congress of Vienna restored the Zähringen dynasty in Baden, governed during a period of rapid social and political transformation across the German lands: economic strains from early industrialisation, agrarian difficulties, the rise of liberal and nationalist ideas, and growing demands for parliamentary reform. Although comparatively liberal among German princes—implementing limited administrative and legal reforms and permitting broader public discourse in the AD 1840s—his moderate policies failed to satisfy radical democrats and republicans. During the AD 1848 revolution, Baden became a stronghold of radical democratic forces, many soldiers defected, and the government faced an unprecedented crisis, ultimately forcing Leopold I to flee Karlsruhe and rely on Prussian troops to suppress the uprising.

King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, who ascended the throne in AD 1840, ruled at a time when conservative monarchy and liberal movements clashed dramatically. Steeped in a romantic conception of kingship and viewing himself as a ruler by divine grace, he favoured a revival of medieval hierarchical order over modern constitutional governance. Externally his reign confronted the loose structure of the post-Vienna German Confederation and Austria’s constraints; internally it faced the poverty and unrest generated by early industrialisation and growing liberal demands for constitutions, press freedom, and representative government. When revolution broke out in AD 1848 he initially offered symbolic concessions—such as adopting the black-red-gold colours—to appease public sentiment, but soon relied on military force to suppress uprisings in Prussia and across German territories. His refusal to accept the imperial crown drafted by the Frankfurt Assembly doomed its constitutional project. After the revolution’s failure he introduced a conservative constitutional framework in the AD 1850s that preserved royal authority and laid structural foundations for the military reforms and Prussian ascendancy later directed by his brother, Wilhelm I.

物件編號: M424-2

年代: 公元 1840-1866 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 13.7 x 13.7 x 2.6 mm

來源: 肯吉亞拍賣行 2025

此扎林格雄獅勳章迷你版用以著非軍服正裝(例如燕尾服)時配戴。

扎林格雄獅勳章(Orden vom Zähringer Löwen)

勳章正面中央為金色描邊的圓盤，圓盤上繪有家族的象徵——扎林格城堡。圓盤四周十字四臂等距，但十字末端較根部寬大，十字臂正面填充綠色半圓凸起玻璃琺瑯。填充物末端磨成斜角。十字臂之間的空間填滿花葉紋金飾，與正章不同，花葉紋金飾僅有輪廓，正背面平夷無浮雕，或許是因為迷你版而省略，也可能因曾需鑲嵌碎鑽。

勳章的背面圓盤繪有以紅色琺琅為底的金色直立雄獅，為扎林格家族紋章。章緣上方有兩個環以正面懸掛於支撐槓上，綬帶則縫於上方固定，呈勳表形式。綬帶底色呈綠色，兩側各一道黃帶與邊緣稍微相隔。

此勳章為迷你版，無法依懸掛飾物及章體大小分辨詳細等級，金質表示其至少為「一級騎士勳章」(Ritterkreuz I. Klasse)等級以上，若曾鑲鑽則其可能為「鑲鑽一級指揮官勳章」(Kommandeur I. Klasse in Brillanten)以上之等級。

扎林格雄獅勳章由巴登大公國大公卡爾·弗里德里希(Karl Friedrich) 於公元1812年12月26日設立，該日亦為大公夫人史蒂芬妮的命名日。扎林格雄獅勳章是公認最漂亮的德意志邦國勳章之一。公元1815年後，如果受勳者作出了獨特的貢獻，他們的勳章上方會有黃金打造的橡樹葉，葉子上刻有「L」的戳記，代表大公利奧波德(Leopold)，直到公元1866年大公腓特烈一世(Friedrich I)修改相關的法規，將「L」移除。公元1866年後如果受勳者是因為軍功而被授予此枚勳章，他們的勳章上會有交叉的雙劍。

在公元1812年設立時，扎林格雄獅勳章分為三級——大十字級、指揮級及騎士級，及後經歷多次修改，包括公元1840年將指揮官級分為一級及二級，其中指揮一級同時獲頒星章；公元1866年將騎士級亦分為一級及二級。二階騎士勳章由銀打造，其餘勳章的原材料為金。公元1910年左右，指揮級勳章改為銀鍍金。

公元1848年至1849年的德意志革命，是一場席捲德意志邦聯各邦國的自由主義與民族主義運動，其根源來自歐洲 19 世紀上半葉長期累積的社會與經濟矛盾，包括農民壓力、工業化初期的失業問題、中產階級對憲政與公民權的追求，以及受法國「二月革命」的直接刺激。革命於公元1848年三月至四月迅速在多個邦國爆發，因此也稱為「三月革命」。革命迫使各地君主接受自由主義內閣、廢除審查制度並召開法蘭克福國民議會，議會企圖制定全德意志地區的憲法與君主立憲架構。然而，隨著保守勢力重整力量、軍隊重新掌握局面、普魯士與奧地利拒絕接受議會的皇權安排，加上革命陣營內部在「大德意志／小德意志」、「共和／君主立憲」等重大議題上無法取得共識，革命自公元1848年底起逐步走向潰敗。

巴登(Baden)於革命前便被譽為德意志地區最為自由憲政的邦國，然而革命爆發後，其建立民主共和制度的訴求也是最堅定的。公元1848年巴登革命最初由軍官譁變及民主派集會引發，但在普魯士援軍介入後被迅速平息。公元1849年春，法蘭克福議會憲法遭多數邦國拒絕後，巴登成為「帝國憲法運動」(Reichsverfassungskampagne)最激烈的據點。革命軍與民主派在卡爾斯魯厄和弗萊堡一帶掌握政權，並試圖建立共和制度；同時，大批巴登軍隊倒戈加入革命者，使巴登成為德意志革命中軍事力量最完整、最具規模的革命政權。然而，在普魯士強大軍力壓境下，革命軍於公元1849年6月至7月間在維格(Waghäusel)、拉施塔特(Rastatt)等地接連敗退。7月23日拉施塔特要塞陷落後，巴登革命正式宣告終結，也標誌著整場德意志公元1848-1849年革命的最終崩潰。革命失敗後，許多領袖被處決或流亡北美與瑞士，革命制度亦被全面廢除。

巴登大公利奧波德一世於公元1830年繼承大公位，他的上位本身便源於維也納會議後的繼承調整，使哲林根王朝得以於巴登復辟。在他統治期間，巴登面臨整個德意志地區急速變化的社會與政治環境：工業化初期的經濟壓力、農業困境、自由主義與民族主義思想的興起，以及議會政治改革的訴求相互交織。利奧波德一世相較於其他德意志君主較為開明，推動有限度的行政改革與法制近代化，也在公元1840年代容許更高程度的公共討論。然而，他所採取的溫和自由路線仍無法滿足激進自由派與共和派的要求。公元1848年革命爆發後，巴登成為激進民主派的中心之一，軍隊中大批士兵倒戈，使巴登政府面臨前所未有的政治危機。利奧波德一世最終被迫逃離卡爾斯魯厄，並依靠普魯士軍隊平定叛亂。

普魯士國王腓特烈·威廉四世自公元1840年即位，是德意志保守君主制與自由主義思潮劇烈碰撞時期的重要人物。他以浪漫主義式的王權觀著稱，自視為「上帝恩典下的君主」，主張恢復中世紀式的階級秩序與君主父權，而非近代憲政體系。其統治初期在外部面臨維也納會議後的德意志邦聯鬆散格局與奧地利的壓制；在內部則遭遇工業化初期帶來的貧困、社會動盪與自由派對憲法、新聞自由與議會制度的要求。公元1848年，革命爆發時，他先以讓步與象徵性姿態(如戴上黑紅金三色)試圖安撫輿論，但很快轉向依賴軍隊鎮壓普魯士與德意志各地的革命運動，並拒絕接受法蘭克福國民議會所擬的全德帝位，使德意志憲政統一的嘗試破局。革命失敗後，他在公元1850年代推行保守的憲政形式，維持王權優勢，並為其弟威廉一世後來主導的軍事改革與普魯士崛起奠定制度基礎。