Late 18th c Portuguese Order of Christ Cross

A large late 18th c Portuguese Order of Christ sash badge, set with 106 cushion-cut white topazes (approx. 10.3 ctw, tested) and 32 flat-cut red foiled garnets/quartzes, in a gilt silver frame with original fittings preserved. The large bail to reverse is designed to hold a wide sash. 18th c portraits of Portuguese monarchs (e.g. Joseph I, Maria I, Peter III) almost always feature the subject wearing an Order of Christ cross around the neck on a red silk sash, this badge being an indispensable element of royal portraits due to the Portuguese sovereign serving as the order’s Grand Master. Created in 1318 by Dinis I as a continuation of the Knights Templar (a yet older Crusade-era military order with a role in the founding of Portugal), the Order of Christ has long contributed to the country’s coastal defense and maritime strength. During the Renaissance age of sail, it was the Order that commandeered naval explorations by dispatching its own fleets and building overseas commanderies; both Henry the Navigator and Vasco de Gama were members. By the late 18th c, the Order of Christ was indelibly tied to Portuguese national and social identity. Membership, limited to Portuguese Catholics of noble descent, was a marker of social status. Thriving trade with England and Brazil, encouraged by the liberalizing economic policies of the King’s chief minister the Marquis of Pombal, led to the rise of wealthy mercantile bourgeoisie in Lisbon and Porto. Changing distribution of wealth promoted greater social mobility and progressivism. In 1775, the government decreed by law to allow merchants of great wealth to be ennobled, and in 1789, Queen Maria I secularized the Order. The late 18th c therefore witnessed the height of membership expansion and popularity. The present badge’s design type features a cross of Portugal, a unique blend of the cross pattée and cross potent, and long a national symbol. The upper rosette pendant, an initiation symbol, represents the circular sun painted in the vault of the Convent of the Order of Christ. A similarly dated and constructed cross badge is illustrated on p. 19 of “A Joalharia em Portugal 1750-1825” by Gonçalo de Vasconcelos e Sousa. Two more are illustrated on p. 119 of “Joalharia Portuguesa” by Rui Guedes.
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