Item number: M557-9

Reference number: Borna Barac IV#759-791

Year: AD 1856-1917

Material: Gold and Enamel

Provenance:

1. Leu Numismatik 2025

2. Reza Najafi Collection

This is an Order of Saint Stanislaus awarded by the Russian Empire. As it was conferred for civil merit, it is not fitted with crossed swords. The order was divided into three classes; however, in the case of this miniature, its precise class cannot be determined.

The obverse central medallion features the red cypher “SS” executed upon white enamel, signifying the monogram of the Catholic martyr St Stanislaus. This design denotes that the recipient belonged to the Roman Catholic or Protestant denominations, whilst for Orthodox Christians and non-Christians, it bore the black double-headed eagle symbolising the Russian Empire. The central disc is encircled by a laurel wreath delineated in gold. The four arms of the cross, outlined in gold, form a radiating Maltese cross filled with translucent red enamel; the bifurcated extremities terminate in gold ball finials and are interconnected by semicircular openwork arches. Between the four angles of the cross arms, crowned double-headed eagles are affixed. Although the enamel on the reverse is abraded, according to original statutes it would have corresponded identically to the obverse.

The Order of St Stanislaus originated in the mid-eighteenth century within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In AD 1764, under the patronage of Empress Catherine II of Russia, the last King of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski, acceded to the throne, and in the following year (AD 1765) formally instituted this honour. It was named after the eleventh-century martyr Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Bishop of Kraków, who was likewise the patron saint of Poland. Conceived initially to conciliate the nobility and consolidate royal authority, the Order was restricted to no more than one hundred companions, excluding foreign recipients; the original badge depicted a full-length effigy of the saint, imbuing it with a pronounced Roman Catholic character.

In AD 1815, following the incorporation of Poland as a protectorate of the Russian Empire, Tsar Alexander I, in his capacity as King of Poland, decreed within the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland that the Order of St Stanislaus be preserved and expanded into four classes. Originally conferred exclusively upon Polish subjects, the Order, alongside the Order of the White Eagle, was formally assimilated into the Imperial Russian honours system in AD 1831 by Tsar Nicholas I following the suppression of the Polish November Uprising of AD 1830, receiving the designation of “Imperial and Royal Orders”. Upon its incorporation into the imperial apparatus, the iconography of the insignia underwent substantial modifications: golden double-headed eagles symbolising tsarist sovereignty were introduced between the arms, while the original depiction of the Polish Catholic saint in the central medallion was replaced by the red Latin cypher “SS” upon white enamel. In accordance with new statutes enacted in the AD 1840s, non-Christian recipients were conferred badges wherein the central religious monogram was supplanted by the imperial double-headed eagle.

Within the extensive hierarchy of Imperial Russian orders, the Order of St Stanislaus occupied the lowest precedence. Following the abolition of the Fourth Class in AD 1839, the Third Class became the most junior decoration in the Russian Empire, accessible even to district schoolteachers or private tutors with fifteen years of civil service. For instance, the renowned playwright Anton Chekhov was invested with the Third Class of the Order for his “exemplary zeal and distinguished service as trustee of the Talezh village school”. Between AD 1815 and AD 1917, the Third Class was conferred nearly 750,000 times. During the reign of the last Tsar, Nicholas II, the annual bestowals reached an astonishing 5,300 to 15,750 decorations between AD 1903 and AD 1911.

In Pavel Fedotov’s satirical painting The Fresh Cavalier, the protagonist stands in the centre of a squalid chamber clad in a striped dressing gown, slippers, and a paper cap, gesturing boastfully towards his cook to display the Order of St Stanislaus pinned to his chest, revelling in his elevation to the nobility. The military uniform discarded carelessly beside him perhaps encapsulates the artist’s true sentiment towards such self-satisfied “cavaliers”.

In AD 1916, owing to the wartime scarcity of metal resources during the First World War, the manufacture of the insignia was comprehensively transitioned to base metals such as gilt copper. Following the outbreak of the February Revolution in AD 1917, the Provisional Government briefly excised the monarchical tsarist emblems from the badge, though it was subsequently abolished by the Soviet regime following the October Revolution. In AD 1979, the Polish government-in-exile re-established the honour, which was further transformed by AD 1990 into a national Polish award commending philanthropic and charitable endeavours. Furthermore, the Imperial House of Romanov in Western exile continued to confer the order. From the AD 1970s onwards, a proliferation of “self-styled orders” emerged, illicitly claiming the authority to award the decoration; however, authoritative institutions including Burke’s Peerage Ltd and the International Commission for Orders of Chivalry have affirmed that the legitimate prerogative to bestow the order resides exclusively with the Polish government and the House of Romanov.

During the AD 1990s, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the establishment of the “Chancellery of H.I.H. the Head of the Russian Imperial House“, the head of the dynasty, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, conferred the Order of St Stanislaus with greater frequency than her predecessors. As of AD 2012, approximately 150 individuals across all classes have been invested as knights of St Stanislaus, almost exclusively Russian nationals, with foreign recipients remaining exceptionally rare.

物件編號: M557-9

參考書目編號: Borna Barac IV#759-791

年代: 公元 1856-1917 年

材料: 黃金, 琺瑯

來源:

1. Leu Numismatik 2025

2. 雷扎·納加菲舊藏

這是一枚俄羅斯帝國所頒發之聖斯坦尼勳章。該勳章因授予民事人員，故不帶有佩劍裝飾。此勳章總共分為三個等級，然而這枚迷你版令人無法分辨其確實的等級。

正面中央圓章主圖為紅色「SS」，書於白色琺瑯之上，是為天主教聖徒斯坦尼斯勞斯（St. Stanislaus）的縮寫。代表其獲頒者信仰天主教或基督新教等教派，至於東正教徒與異教徒則會是象徵俄羅斯帝國的黑色雙頭鷹。周圍環繞桂冠，以黃金為輪廓。十字四臂輪廓為黃金，呈放射狀，即馬爾他十字，輪廓內填以紅色琺瑯，放射芒末端綴以金珠，四臂末端則以半圓弧裝飾。十字四臂的四個角隅間各飾以戴冠的雙頭鷹。背面琺瑯磨損，但依原章則應與正面一致。

聖斯坦尼斯勳章最早誕生於十八世紀中葉的波蘭立陶宛聯邦。公元1764年，在俄羅斯女皇葉卡捷琳娜二世的扶持下，波蘭末代國王斯坦尼斯瓦夫·奧古斯特·波尼亞托夫斯基登基，並於次年（公元1765年）正式設立這座勳章，以十一世紀殉道的克拉科夫主教，什切帕努夫的斯坦尼斯勞斯為名，他同時也是波蘭的主保聖人。該勳章最初旨在籠絡貴族並鞏固王權，規定除外籍人士外獲頒者不得超過百人，章體上原繪有聖人全身聖像，天主教色彩濃厚。

公元1815年，隨著俄羅斯帝國將波蘭納為保護國，兼任波蘭國王的沙皇亞歷山大一世在波蘭王國憲法裡，宣布保留聖斯坦尼勳章，並且擴增為四個階級。起初該勳章僅授予波蘭居民，直到公元1830年波蘭十一月起義遭沙俄帝國鎮壓後，沙皇尼古拉一世於公元1831年將其與白鷹勳章正式併入俄羅斯國家榮銜體系，冠以「帝國與王國勳章」之名。納入帝俄體系後，徽章造型歷經了顯著改造：四個角翼間增飾象徵沙俄王權的金質雙頭鷹，中央則將原先的波蘭天主教聖人畫像改為白琺瑯圓徽內的拉丁文「SS」紅色花押；對於非基督徒受勳者，更依公元1840年代新規以雙頭鷹國徽取代中央的宗教字樣。

在帝俄龐大的榮譽序列中，聖斯坦尼斯勳章被定為位階最低的國家勳章。而隨著公元1839年，四級勳章的廢除，三級聖斯坦尼勳章便成為俄羅斯帝國級別最低的勳章，連地區學校的老師或服務達十五年的家庭教師皆有獲頒的資格。例如，知名的戲劇家安東·契訶夫就因「擔任塔列日鄉村學校理事的出色熱情和特殊工作」獲頒過一枚三級聖斯坦尼勳章。自公元1815至1917年間，三級勳章被頒發近75萬次。到了末代沙皇尼古拉二世時期，公元1903到1911年間，年度頒發量來到驚人的5,300到15,750枚。

在費多托夫(Pavel Fedotov)的諷喻畫《新晉騎士》(Fresh cavalier)中，畫中主角站在簡陋房間中央，身穿條紋睡袍，腳踩拖鞋，頭戴紙帽，彎腰自得地以手指指向廚娘，展示別在睡袍上的聖斯坦尼斯勳章，為終於晉身貴族而自得。而丟棄在一旁的軍裝，或許才代表了畫家對於所謂「騎士」的態度。

公元1916年，因第一次世界大戰戰時金屬物資匱乏，該勳章於起全面改以鍍金銅等廉價金屬製作。公元1917年二月革命爆發後，臨時政府曾短暫抹去章上的沙皇王權標記，但隨後在十月革命後正式遭蘇維埃政權廢除。公元1979年波蘭流亡政府重新設立了該榮銜，至公元1990年更轉化為波蘭表彰慈善公益事業的全國性榮譽獎項。此外，流亡西方的羅曼諾夫皇室家族仍持續在頒發該勳章。而70年代以來，出現大量「自封的騎士團」冒名頒發該勳章，但權威機關「伯克貴族有限公司」和「國際騎士團委員會」認定，唯有波蘭政府和羅曼諾夫家族有頒發該勳章的權力。

上世紀90年代，蘇聯解體和羅曼諾夫家族成立自號俄羅斯帝國的「H.I.H. 常規總理府」後，家族掌門人瑪麗亞·弗拉基米羅芙娜大公夫人比起前任更頻繁地授予聖斯坦尼勳章。截至公元2012年，各級別的聖斯坦尼騎士大約有150名，幾乎全是俄羅斯人，外國獲獎者則十分罕見。