Item number: M557-14

Reference number: Borna Brarc I#48

Year: AD 1897-1909

Material: Silver-plated Copper, Enamel

Provenance:

1. Leu Numismatik 2025

2. Reza Najafi Collection

This is a miniature version of the Second Type of the Imperial Order of the Double Dragon, issued in the twenty-third year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1897). The Second Type revised the earlier insignia of the order, which had originally been instituted in the seventh year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1881). According to an imperial memorial dated 13 March in the twenty-third year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1897), two principal shortcomings of the earlier decorations were identified: firstly, their configurations failed to embody the authentic appearance of a star insignia, being confined merely to rectangular, lozenge-foliate, mallow-shaped, and circular patterns; secondly, their excessive weight rendered them cumbersome and inconvenient to wear. Fundamentally, the two versions exhibited no substantive differences in their institutional framework or hierarchical classification of grades, with modifications being restricted essentially to the physical styling and design of the insignia.

From the Third Class downwards, the Second Type of the Imperial Order of the Double Dragon was issued exclusively as a neck decoration, comprising only a single star badge without any distinction between a primary star and a secondary breast star. Regarding the physical characteristics of the badge: whilst the outermost rays were originally fashioned from silver, this miniature version is presumably of silver-plated brass. The rays are arranged in alternating lengths, forming a radiating eight-pointed star. The central medallion is divided into three concentric rings, adorned with blue enamel that deepens progressively in hue from the interior outwards. On the full-sized original badge, the outermost ring is encircled by two dragons; in this miniature specimen, however, they are situated within the middle ring, leaving the outer ring to preserve only the lower motif of mountains and rolling sea waves. Between the confronting heads of the two dragons rests a sun or flaming pearl, originally embellished with a small spherical red coral bead, but rendered here in red enamel encircled by a twelve-pointed star. The inscriptions on the middle ring of the original insignia—consisting of the Manchu and Chinese texts ‘ᡳᠯᠠᠨ ᠵᡝᡵᡤᡳ ᠵᠠᡳᠴᡳ’ (Third Class, Second Grade) and ‘御賜雙龍寶星’ (Imperial Order of the Double Dragon)—are omitted in this miniature variant, having been superseded by the dual dragons transposed from the perimeter. At the very centre, where a sapphire would originally have been mounted, this miniature appears to employ blue enamel; encircling this blue enamel is a gilt meander fret pattern, which in this piece exhibits several breaks in the tooling. The reverse of the insignia is smooth, plain, and devoid of engraving, rising to a pronounced convex central boss.

The emergence of orders and decorations in the Qing dynasty occurred after the First Opium War, when increasing numbers of Europeans entered Qing China and traditional foreign policies were no longer adequate to contemporary needs. Even after the establishment of the Zongli Yamen to handle foreign affairs, differences in custom and protocol continued to generate friction and conflict. Faced with the large number of foreigners employed in military, educational, economic, and other sectors within the Qing realm, traditional Chinese forms of honour, such as the bestowal of official headgear ornaments or imperial commendations, failed to satisfy foreign recipients. In order to align with Western systems, the Qing court therefore created its own system of orders and stars.

In April of the 34th year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1908), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs approved a memorial to extend the awarding of “the Order of the Double Dragon” beyond foreigners, to include Qing dynasty foreign affairs officials and emissaries sent abroad. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs observed that the primary purpose of orders and decorations in Western countries was to honour their own nationals, whereas the Qing dynasty had done the opposite. During formal diplomatic occasions, foreigners would often wear formal attire adorned with all their awarded orders and decorations. However, Qing dynasty diplomats were frequently unable to wear their own national orders and decorations, having to wear only foreign ones instead. This reform was implemented to address this issue.

Due to the issuance of this Order of the Double Dragon in the late 19th century, a period of increased diplomatic activity for the Qing dynasty compared to the past, the second edition of the Order of the Double Dragon, issued in the 23rd year of the Guangxu reign (AD 1897), saw significant production, distribution, and survival rates. As a result, it is the most commonly encountered version of the Order of the Double Dragon in modern collections.

The two versions of the Order of the Double Dragon have no significant differences in terms of class and system. The following table shows the correspondence between the levels of the Order of the Double Dragon and the recipients of the awards according to the regulations of the Order in the 7th year of Guangxu (AD 1881):

物件編號: M557-14

參考書目編號: Borna Brarc I#48

年代: 公元 1897-1909 年

材質: 銅鍍銀、珐瑯

來源:

1. Leu Numismatik 2025

2. 雷扎·納加菲舊藏

此為光緒23年（公元1897年）所發行，第二版雙龍寶星的迷你版。第二版雙龍寶星改版了光緒7年（公元1881年）所發行的雙龍寶星。從光緒23年（公元1897年）3月13日的奏摺裡，可見當時寶星的兩個主要問題：第一為「版型」並未具備真正「寶星」的形式，僅有長方形、菱花形、葵花形與圓形；第二則為佩戴不便，因為過於沈重。兩個版本的雙龍寶星在等級、制度基本上沒有太大的差異，只有寶星的樣式進行修改變動。

第二版的雙龍寶星從第三等開始全部都為領綬式，只會頒發一枚星章，不會有大寶星與副寶星的區別。寶星的外觀如下：從最外圍的星芒原為銀質，此迷你版可能為黃銅鍍銀。星芒為長短相間形式排列，呈現放射狀的八芒星。中央圓章分為三環，由內而外有漸深的藍色琺瑯。原章最外層有二龍環繞，此迷你版中置於中間層，外層則僅保留下方海水與山形的圖樣；二龍龍首中間有太陽或焰朱，原以圓形小顆紅色珊瑚裝飾，此迷你版中為紅色琺瑯，紅色琺瑯周圍以十二角星環繞。原章中間層銘文原為滿文與漢文「ᡳᠯᠠᠨ ᠵᡝᡵᡤᡳ ᠵᠠᡳᠴᡳ」（參品第貳）和「御賜雙龍寶星」，此迷你版中省略，被最外層移至此的雙龍所取代。正中央原為藍寶石，此’迷你版中應為藍色琺瑯；環繞藍色琺瑯的為金色回形紋，此迷你版中則出現多處斷筆。勳章背面出光平無紋，中央圓突。

清朝勳章的誕生，是在第一次鴉片戰爭後，歐洲人開始湧入清朝，傳統的對外政策已無法符合當時的需求。即便設立專門處理對外事務的「總理各國事務衙門」，仍因為習俗禮儀等落差，造成各種摩擦與碰撞。在面對大量聘用於清朝的軍工、教育、經濟等行業的外國人，傳統對中國人的「頂戴花翎」或者「傳旨嘉獎」等方式，無法讓外國人滿足。因此為了與西方制度接軌，於是創造了清朝勳章寶星制度。

在光緒34年（公元1908年）4月經外務部奏准「雙龍寶星」今後的頒發不再僅限外國人，同時也頒發給清朝外務官員以及出洋各史。外務部認為西方各國設立的勳章，主要目的是頒發給本國人，然而清朝卻完全相反。在涉及外交正式場合時，外國人往往會穿著禮服，並佩戴自己獲得的所有勳章，然而清朝的外交官員，常無法配戴本國的勳章，只能配戴外國的勳章，因有此改革。

由於此寶星發行年間為19世紀末，清朝外交活動相較於過去又更加的頻繁。因此光緒23年（公元1897年）發行的第二版雙龍寶星，不論是在製作、頒發和存世的數量非常的多，也是現代收藏中最常見雙龍寶星的版本。

兩個版本的雙龍寶星在等級、制度基本上沒有太大的差異，下表為光緒7年（公元1881年）寶星章程等級對應頒發對象：