53 Order of the White Eagle.

Kingdom of Poland - Order of the White Eagle

Knight's Breast Star from the reign of King Stanislas Augustus II. (Poniatovsky), 1764 - 1795.

Breast star to the order dating the last third of the 18th century. Silver, partially gilded. The arms of the separately applied cross with the order's the motto: "PRO FIDE REGE ET LEGE" in separately applied gold letters.

The fluted arms of the cross feature silver parts with red enamelled trim in Gold. The background of the enamel features finely executed guilloche engraving. Fixed to each corner with gold pins. The flaming star bundles feature a steel spring mechanism to the reverse with movable hinges. Each star tip features small eyelets to sew on the coat or the Uniform. Some star tips are broken off, the enamel with minor age and wear related chips. 

Władysław IV Wasa tried in 1634 to found an order "for the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary". The design of the badge anticipates the later Order of the White Eagle. It refers to the alleged foundation of King Władysław I during the 14th century. As a violation of the principle of equality among the nobility, the project met with fierce resistance from the smaller nobility and was abandoned.

King Augustus the Strong was forced by King Charles XII of Sweden in 1704 to renounce to the Polish thron and flee to Dresden and Stanislaus I Leszczyński was elected the new king of Poland.

August negotiated a treaty in 1705 in Tykocin, in a castle in the former Central Poland, with Tsar Peter I and a group of Polish opponents of Charles XII. To reward his followers he created the first medal of the White Eagle which was presented to eight recipients, including four Polish magnates, three Russian field marshals (including Peter Lacy), and an Ataman of the Cossacks.

When August the Strong died in 1733, he had only appointed about 40 knights of the White Eagle. August III, son of August the Strong, ruled from 1733 to 1763. The almighty Minister Heinrich Graf von Brühl was in charge of government in Poland and Saxony. The order of the White Eagle became a commercial object, the knighthood could be bought for 10 000 Polish guilders from Brühl. About 330 Awards were made, 160 of them in the last decade of the government of August III.

Upon the coronation of Stanislas Augustus Poniatovsky in 1764 only three new Knights were appointed - Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski, Prince Michał Poniatowski, brother of the new king, and the Russian Ambassador, Prince Nikolaj Repnin.

Under the reign of the last king of Poland, Stanisław II August, the first statutes of the order were created in 1777. The number of knights of the order was limited to 150, except "to us, the grand masters, Lords and princes who rule in foreign lands, deserving and honest foreigners or those specially recommended to us, and finally Knights appointed by our predecessors". The order candidate had to show eight noble ancestors. A chapter of the order with Chancellor, vice-chancellor and treasurer was created. Upon admission to the order, the Knights were to pay 50 Polish guilders (Złoty), the annual fee for charitable purposes was nine guilders, of which one Guilder was for funeral expenses of the deceased Knights. In 1789 the admission fee was increased to the sum of 100 Polish guilders. In this year the a second class of the White Eagle and the order of Saint Stanislaus was created and was to consist of neck decorations and had no breast star. However, however it did not come to realization. 

The king of Saxony and Duke of Warsaw Frederick Augustus I appointed two new Knights of the order in 1807, after a twelve-year hiatus. The order was awarded very sparsely in the Duchy of Warsaw, in total there were about ten awards until 1815.

Emperor Alexander I appointed in 1815, as king of Poland, eight new knights, exclusively Polish. From 1819 to 1828, he appointed about 40 knights, of which only two were poles, the remaining 38 were Russians.

After the defeat of the Polish November Uprising of 1831, the order was transferred to the Russian order system by Tsar Nicholas I. Until 1916, the order was awarded around 1200 times, among them only 66 Polish subjects.

In 1920, in the resurgent Poland (Second Republic), a project of the re-foundation of the White Eagle was presented to the Reich administrator Józef Piłsudski. The award was supposed to have the usual five classes, the appearance of the order was based on the decorations of its early days, the mottosuggested was "Pro fide, lege et grege" , the saswas supposed to be to be white. This project was not realized.

The order was re-instituted on 15 April 1921 and from 1921 to 1938, only 24 Polish Knights were appointed. In 1924 a chapter of the order was created. The officers of the order were the chancellor, secretary and treasurer. By virtue of his office, the respective president acted as Grand Master. Until 1945, the Polish government-in-exile in London awarded the White Eagle to some foreign personalities.

No new Polish Knights were appointed, the respective president of Poland in exile held the order by virtue of his office. In communist-ruled Poland, the order was no longer awarded, but was still listed as a state award as long as the Knights were still alive. In 1974, after long discussions among the communist authorities about the revival of the order of the White Eagle instead, they created the five-Class Order of merit of the Republic of Poland, which was worn on the ribbon of the White Eagle. In December 1990, Lech Wałęsa was elected president in the first free presidential elections after 1945. The last London President in exile, Ryszard Kaczorowski, presented him with the old presidential emblem of the insignia of the Order of the White Eagle in a solemn ceremony. The order was restored on 16 October 1992.

Magnificent and highly important early breast star in fantastic quality and considering its age, in very good condition.

Of the greatest rarity.

Measures 138 x 129 mm.

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