Item number: M461

Year: AD 1847-1956

Material: Gold, Silver-Gilt and Enamel

Size: 200.0 x 28.8 x 2.9 mm

Weight: 24.86 g

Provenance: Jakobowicz & Associes 2025

This is a chain composed of 15 miniature orders linked together by a gold chain. The medals, made of gold or silver-gilt, originate from a total of 11 countries spanning Europe, Asia, and Africa, primarily from France and its overseas colonies and protectorates.

The Orders in the set, from left to right, are as follows:

By nature, the Alaouite Order and the Nishan al-Anouar were historically service-based decorations, meaning that eligibility required service for a prescribed period in a specific location or post. By event, only a single award in this group can be clearly linked to the campaign of the Eight-Nation Alliance, namely the China Expeditionary Medal. By cause, the Epidemics Medal of Honour was awarded exclusively to individuals who distinguished themselves during major epidemic outbreaks, while the Order of the Academic Palms was conferred solely upon scholars who had made outstanding contributions to education and academic scholarship. Decorations restricted to civil or civilian service include the Order of St Stanislaus and the Order of St Gregory the Great, whereas the Order of St Anne was restricted to military recipients; the remaining decorations were not subject to such distinctions. By class, the identifiable grades are generally no higher than the fourth class within a five-grade system. The highest-ranking award among them is the Order of the Double Dragon conferred by the Qing court, whose Second Class, Third Grade was statutorily awarded to first-class counsellors of foreign powers, senior military officers, consuls general, and chief instructors, though it could also be bestowed in recognition of conspicuous merit. Recipients were thus not necessarily senior officials or heads of ministries, but individuals who had rendered significant services in China.

Taken together, if it is assumed that this group of miniature decorations was awarded to a single individual, that person was most likely of French origin, trained in medicine, and long stationed overseas in the course of France’s colonial expansion, and present in China with a diplomatic mission or allied forces during AD 1900–1901.

Such individuals were by no means uncommon; however, none is known whose dates of birth and death and personal career correspond exactly in every respect. One relatively well-known figure is cited here solely as a representative example:

Jean-Jacques Matignon (AD 1866–1928) was born in Eynesse, in the Gironde department of France. After graduating from the Naval School of Hygiene in Bordeaux, he became a military physician and entered the French military medical service. From AD 1894, he was posted to China, where he organised a hospital and a small French-language school in Beijing. This period coincided with the expansion of the Third Plague Pandemic into the Far East and its subsequent northward spread. Matignon undertook research into the plague outbreaks along the Siberian and Mongolian frontiers and identified a new route of transmission, thereby assisting the Russian government in effectively controlling the epidemic, for which he was awarded the Order of St Anne. In AD 1895, when typhus, cholera, and plague broke out in Beijing, he distinguished himself in combating the epidemics and was promoted to the rank of first-class assistant surgeon. In AD 1897, he travelled to Macao in response to a renewed outbreak of plague. During AD 1900–1901, as a member of the diplomatic corps, he joined other foreign legations in defending the Legation Quarter against attacks during the Boxer Uprising. Throughout his time in China, he was a prolific writer, publishing numerous medical studies as well as travel accounts concerning countries of the Far East, and serialising in newspapers his experiences during the siege of the legations, later collected as Les 55 jours de Pékin: journal d’un médecin au siège des légations. In AD 1917, Matignon was appointed an Officer of the Legion of Honour. He continued to publish medical works until at least AD 1923.

Europe has a rich history of awarding Orders. After being awarded a medal, recipients often commissioned private jewellers to create miniature replicas. These replicas allowed recipients to display and wear their honours more conveniently. Additionally, upon the recipient’s death, the state typically required the return of the original Orders, making these replicas cherished heirlooms for their descendants.

物件編號: M461

年代: 公元 1847-1956 年

材質: 黃金、銀鍍金、琺瑯

尺寸: 200.0 x 28.8 x 2.9 mm

重量: 24.86 g

來源: 雅各博維奇拍賣行 2025

這是一條以金質鍊子串連，總計15枚的迷你勳章組。這些勳章的材質為金質或銀鍍金。以地點計，頒授國橫跨歐亞非三洲總計11個國家，主要來自法國和其海外殖民地和保護國。

勳章組從左至右，分別如下：

以性質分，「阿拉維勳章」和「尼尚－埃爾－阿努瓦爾勳章」於歷史上曾為服務型勳章，意即須於特定地點或職位，在任一定年限才可獲得。以事件分，僅有一枚明確對應八國聯軍之役的「中國遠征紀念獎章」。以事由分，流行病榮譽獎章僅授予於重大流行病事件中表現出色的個人，學術棕櫚僅授予於教育和學術方面有傑出貢獻的學者。其中民事、民政限定的有聖斯坦尼勳章、聖大葛利果勳章；軍事限定的有聖安娜勳章，其餘則無差別。以等級分，能辨識者多不超過五級制中的四級，最高級者為清廷所頒授的「雙龍寶星」，其二等三級法定頒予「各國頭等參贊、武職大員、總領事官、總教習」，也有可能因為顯著的功績而贈與，獲頒者應非高級官員或部會首長，但在中國有重大貢獻。

綜上所述，若假設此迷你勳章組均為一人所獲授，其人最可能來自法國，醫學專業出身，隨法國的殖民擴張而長年派駐海外，於公元1900至1901年間隨使團或聯軍在華者。

相關人物並不少見，但未有於生卒年和個人經歷完全一致者，僅舉一例較出名者，作為典型：

尚–雅克·馬蒂尼翁(Jean-Jacques Matignon, AD 1866–1928)，生於法國吉倫特省的埃內斯。於波爾多海軍衛生學校畢業後，成為軍醫，進入法國軍醫體系。公元1894起，他被派駐至中國，在北京組織了一家醫院和簡易的法語學校。時逢第三次鼠疫大流行擴張至遠東，並向北蔓延。馬蒂尼翁對於在西伯利亞以及蒙古地區邊境流行的鼠疫展開研究，並發現了新的傳播途徑，從而幫助俄國政府有效控制了疫情，因此獲頒聖安娜勳章。公元1895年，北京爆發斑疹傷寒、霍亂和鼠疫，他在對抗疫情時表現優異，成為一級助理外科醫生。公元1897年，他前往澳門，為了對抗再一次爆發的鼠疫。公元1900至1901年間，其作為使館成員，與各國使館一同保衛使館區，以免受義和團運動的攻擊。在中國期間，其著作不輟，發表各類醫學研究，及關於遠東各國的遊記等等，並於報紙上連載被困使館期間的經歷，後集結為《北京的55天：使館醫生的日記》(Les 55 jours de Pékin : journal d’un médecin au siège des legations)。公元1917年，馬蒂尼翁獲授軍官級的榮譽軍團勳章。直到公元1923年仍有醫學著作發表。

歐洲擁有豐富的勳章歷史，授勳者獲得勳章之後，往往會委託民間珠寶商代為製造迷你複刻品，以方便授勳者對外展示和配戴。再來授勳者過世後，國家通常會要求遺族上繳勳章，故複刻品是得以供後人留念的傳家寶。