Item number: M557

Year: late 19th – 20th C. AD

Material: Gold, Silver-Gilt and Enamel

Size: 28.7 x 12.0 x 2.8 mm

Weight: 16.65 g

Provenance:

1. Leu Numismatik 2025

2. Reza Najafi Collection

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 10 countries spanning Europe and Asia, primarily from Belgium.

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

Assuming that this miniature medal group was conferred upon a single individual, the recipient was most likely of Belgian nationality. Furthermore, given that the bestowal of the Special Decoration (Décoration Spéciale) required protracted service within Belgian statutory bodies or public administrations, the recipient was in all probability an administrative or diplomatic official stationed in Brussels. The foreign honours would have been accrued through the hosting of foreign royal state visits and diplomatic missions, or derived from the organisation of the universal expositions staged in Liège and Brussels in AD 1897 and AD 1910.

Prominent examples of such figures include Count John d’Oultremont, Grand Marshal of the Court, who held stewardship over royal external ceremonies and was consequently charged with receiving eminent dignitaries, such as the Chinese special embassy led by Li Hongzhang, the Qajar Shah of Persia, Mozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar, during his European travels, and King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) of Siam during his state visit to Belgium. Alternatively, another representative candidate is Baron Émile Beco, Governor of the Province of Brabant; whilst primarily a domestic administrator, he oversaw the organisation of the universal expositions of AD 1897 and AD 1910 during his tenure, which required the extensive reception and formal hosting of official foreign delegations.

Europe possesses a rich numismatic and phaleristic history; upon receiving an official decoration, recipients frequently commissioned private jewellers to manufacture miniature replicas for the convenience of public display and wear. Furthermore, following the demise of a recipient, the state typically required the deceased’s family to return the original official insignia; consequently, these miniature replicas served as cherished family heirlooms enabling subsequent generations to preserve their ancestor’s memory.

物件編號: M557

年代: 公元 19 世紀末至 20 世紀

材質: 黃金、銀鍍金、琺瑯

尺寸: 28.7 x 12.0 x 2.8 mm

重量: 16.65 g

來源:

1. Leu Numismatik 2025

2. 雷扎·納加菲舊藏

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，總計10個國家，主要來自比利時。

勳章組從左至右，分別如下：

若假設此迷你勳章組均為一人所獲授，其人最可能來自比利時。而從其所獲「特殊飾章」，需在比利時法人團體長期服務來看，獲頒者更可能是駐於布魯塞爾的外交或行政官員。涉外勳章則來自外國王室的國是訪問、使團接待，也可能是來自公元1897年與1910年列日與布魯塞爾世博會的舉辦。

例如宮廷大元帥約翰·多特蒙（John d’Oultremont）伯爵，負責掌理王室涉外典禮，因此也負責接待像是中國李鴻章特使團、環歐旅行的卡扎爾波斯沙阿，穆扎法爾丁·沙·卡扎爾、訪比的泰王拉瑪五世等顯要。或者是像布拉班特省長埃米爾·貝科（Émile Beco）男爵，雖為行政官員，但在任內負責公元1897與1910年世界博覽會的舉辦，因而需要接待各國代表團。

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。