Established and awarded in 1792, the order was restored after the creation of the Duchy of Warsaw. It was awarded for the Napoleonic campaigns of 1805, the war against Austria in 1809, the expedition to Moscow in 1812 and further battles until the fall of Paris in 1814. The first awards from this period took place in January 1808. The order, at that time, was already divided into five classes.
The piece on offer dates from 1809-1812, and was made to the order of the Council of State, most likely at the workshop of Warsaw jeweler Andrzej Janash.
The cross itself is made of silver, measuring 36.5 mm x 32.2 mm. The central medallions are made of gold. The technique of joining the medallions to the cross was not perfect at the time and the medallions often fell off. In this piece, one medallion shield was replaced, most likely still by the decorated person. Based on spectrometer readings, the medallion on the obverse is made of gilded silver (Ag 83.11.%; Au 14.47%) and the medallion shield on the reverse is made of gold (Au 67.33%; Cu 22.92%; Ag9.75%).
A true rarity.
