Český šlechtický kříž z let 1813-1814

The total number of these crosses is very small, so just a small reminder:
We know of these specimens that have been mapped and documented:
1. The cross, which belonged to František Xaver Count Kolovrat-Krakovský, was originally deposited in the Kynžvart castle, unfortunately it is currently missing.
2. The cross, which belonged to Charles Alexander the Freedman. Lord MacEnis of Ater and Iveagh, this cross was deposited in the famous collection of Mr. J. Weyer, its fate is currently unknown.
3. The cross, which has no name, we do not know to whom it belonged, but it was sold in 1938 by the antiquarian Joseph Fischer. This cross was purchased by the then Minister of National Defence and this cross is (or was) in the collections of the Military Museum in Prague.
4. The cross that belonged to Jan Nepomuk, unmarried Mr. Dačická from Heslov, which was bought by Mrs. Baroness Měřičková for her husband (for dollars). We had the opportunity to see this cross at Mr. Meřička's lectures. At present it should be kept in the National Museum in Prague, in the collection of Mr. Václav August Měřička.
5. The cross from the family of the Counts of Wallenstein, which should be stored in the State Archive in Mnichovo Hradiště.
6. A cross that appeared in 1973 belonged to Count F.T. (František Count Taaffe) this cross was deposited in the collection of Mr. Meřička, where it is today is unknown to me, but it should also be deposited in the collection of Mr. Meřička deposited in the National Museum.
7. This last known specimen, which was sold at the Klenau auction in Munich in 1970, was deposited in the famous collection of Professor Giovanni Fattovich in Venice.
It is this cross that is pictured here, provided by Mr. Elmar Lang, which has passed from the collection of the professor to this, surely important and beautiful, collection. The fate of the orders has a history !
I think it is our duty to thank Mr. E. Lang for the beautiful and rare picture of the cross, which is certainly beautiful, interesting and connected to Czech history. I am convinced that this particular cross is the ideological forerunner of our equally beautiful Order of the White Lion.
I am very happy to refer to Mr Měřička, who was a world-renowned forger and who bequeathed his collection to our state free of charge. It is kept in the National Museum.
Sources : Archives. Alt.

Dedicated to Mr. Elmar Lang:


It was Václav Měřička who devoted his whole life to the issues and history of the Czech Noble Cross. Together with Mr. B. Laidl mapped and refined both the list of members of the Guard and described the known specimens. For those interested in the study of this subject, apart from the works of Mr. Měřička, we can only recommend the article on this cross in Mr. Koláčný's book. As he has never questioned Mr. Měřička's conclusions, I will take the liberty of quoting from his work and describing first the history of the cross obtained by Professor Fattovisch and in the collection of Mr. Elmar Lang.


Mr. Měřička states :


A surprise for me and collectors was the discovery of the Bohemian Nobleman's Cross of 1814 in Munich, where the original without ribbon appeared in the 56th Graf Klenau sale in 1971. The decoration was listed there under number 3,212 with the marking "Böhmische Adelskreuz von 1814" and the obverse of the cross was depicted on the catalogue cover at a considerable magnification (75 mm). The more detailed data then indicated that it was a gold cross weighing 11 g, 28 mm in diameter, the face medallion slightly worn, otherwise a well-preserved specimen. The starting price of this cross was set at DM 3000. The cross was bought through a Viennese dealer and entered the collection of the outstanding Venetian collector of Austrian decorations, Professor Dr Giovanni Fattovitch.


Mr. Měřička continues. As I am in contact with the said collector, it is natural that I was immediately informed of the purchase, and I also soon learned that the said Viennese dealer had offered Dr. Fattovich another silver, unenamelled cross, which was supposed to have been awarded by the Emperor in 1814 to the common soldiers of the Noblgard, and that there was a possibility of obtaining from a certain Hungarian collection a similar, unenamelled, but golden cross, which had been made in small numbers and was said to have been awarded at that time to the non-commissioned officers of the Guard, especially to the veterinary surgeon and the accountant of the unit. Prof. Dr. G. Fattovich asked me for my opinion, but I came to believe that it was a fraud and a falsum. According to the Imperial Founding Decree of 1814, there were only those 38 gold crosses for noble bearers and members of the Guard in Vienna, and it was expressly ordered that this cross was never to be worn by anyone else. Nowhere in the course of a hundred and fifty years and more has there been the slightest mention of any silver or gold and unenamelled crosses, which were supposed to have been awarded to the common soldiers of the Noblgard and in gold to the non-commissioned officers.


None of the phalerist authors of books and publications in the last century wrote about this, be it Friedrich Gottschalck, who first published in 1817: Almanach der Ritterorden, an account of the existence of the cross, but neither F. von Biedenfeld, nor Herman von Heyden, Gustav Wahlen, Schulze or J.L. Trost, who all wrote with more or less knowledge about the cross.


The most compelling reason for my assertion that the cross offered and purchased in silver is a forgery is that not a single example in silver has been found in our territory, from which the Noblgard men were certainly recruited, in all that time. In that case, there must have been at least 200 such crosses, and since the bearers were our people, or at least citizens of Czech and German nationality from Bohemia, then such a cross must have appeared at some point.


However, Mr Měřička continues:


I reacted to this event with an article "Kritische zum Böhmischen Adelskreeuz von Jahre 1814", which was published in the Swiss phallic magazine Journal Europeén du Collectionneurs d'Orders et Décorations (JECOD ) in issue 9 in 1973. There, a reproduction of the original cross purchased in Munich was published, both its obverse and reverse, as well as both sides of the silver cross (falsetto) purchased.


The original cross from Munich corresponds in size and design to the cross of Jan Nepomuk Dačický of Heslov, as well as to the cross from the Military Museum in Prague. The size of the cross is given as 29 mm horizontally and 30 mm vertically, the central medallion is 14 mm in diameter and the weight is 11 g.


The silver cross measures only 27 mm horizontally and 28 mm perpendicularly, while the face plate with the lion is 13.5 mm in diameter. The reverse side of the cross is completely smooth, without inscription. This cross is just a cast of an original cross made by a merchant from Vienna.


It is true that after this investigation and clarification of the issue, no other fraudulent merchants attempted to offer any more crosses.


Archive. Alt.

Czech noble cross from 1813-1814.


In the magnificent book by Mr. Ivan Koláčný there is an exemplary list of Noblgard members on pages 208-210. This list is edited to include the rank and position of each member of this specialized noble unit. For those interested in this subject, the treatise in the book Orders and Decorations of the Habsburg Monarchy is an excellent source for further study.


It is perhaps for this reason that we shall return to the original, albeit imperfect, treatment, which is nevertheless entirely authentic and which was first published in October 1938.


In October 1938, the Armorial Book for 1938 was published in the books of the Order (Vyšehrad Publishing House, Prague II, 12 Václavská Street). On page 51-52, in the chapter NOTES, there is a LIST of members of the Czech Noble Guard of King Francis, for which a cross with a white lion was established:


Captain: Count Emanuel Wratislaw, Major General


Captain-Lieutenant: Count of Wallenstein, Colonel


Lieutenant: Count Prokop Wratislaw, Lieutenant Colonel


Second Lieutenant: Count Jan Pachta, Lieutenant Colonel


Second Lieutenant: Count Jáchym Voračický, Major (Lord of Choustník)


Adjutant: Free Lord Klement Punker (Lord of Lnariai)


Guards:


Count John of Salm, Major


Count Bedřich of Clam-Gallas, Major (Lord of the Hills)


Count Arnošt of Wallenstein, Major


Prince Charles of Auersperg, Major, (Lord of Vlašim)


Count Kolovrat. Major


Prince William of Auersperg


Free Lord Hrubý. Rite Master


Count Daun (Lord at Bítov)


Count Meraviglia, engraver


Count Taaffe, engraver


Free Lord of Greiffenciau, engraver


Count Eugene of Wrbno (Lord of Horovice)


Count of Rey, engraver


Count Eugene Poetting


Free Lord Vincek of Kreuzenstein, Lieutenant


Count Windischgrätz


Free Lord Dobrzenski


Count Stampach


Count Christian of Wallenstein (Lord of Mnichovo Hradiště)


Count Joseph of Nostitz


Free Lord Enis


Free Lord Nigroni


Count Antonín of Wallenstein (Lord of Duchcov)


Free Lord Hildprant


Free Lord Tobias of Krenzenstein


Free Lord Spiegel


Free Lord Daczicky of Heslov


Free Mr Bodenthal



This list is copied from the quartering card of this guard when it "lay" in Paris, which is kept with other mementos of the guard in the Daczicky family, descendants of one of the guardsmen.


So we certainly have here a very precise date when the Bohemian Noble Guard reached Paris and where it was then billeted. We have preserved the accommodation list of the Guard, which is printed and supplemented with written notes. It is written in German (Beguartierungsliste der k.k. Böhmischen Noble-Garde" - i.e. "Accommodation list of the c.k. Noble Guard"). The list contains 37 names and accurately distinguishes ranks (batches) from ordinary guardsmen. Even individual names are supplemented with military ranks, recognised honorary positions or offices and we also learn what orders the guardsmen held. For each printed name there is then a note, written in ink, which tells us where in Paris, and sometimes even with whom, the Guardsman was billeted.


The fact that the list is printed shows that a number of these lists existed and were only added to according to the place where the guard stayed.


This list, which has also been preserved in the care of the Dacziks, was the basis for the inventory printed in the Armorial Book for 1938.


Remark:


Jan Nepomuk Daczický was born on 15 May 1795 in Klatovy and is a descendant of an old Czech landowning family. From the period of Rudolf II we will certainly remember Nicholas Daczicky of Heslov.
Jan Nepomuk Daczický was 18-19 years old at the time of the French campaign. Despite his youth, he was promoted to the status of a free lord in 1814 in recognition of his merits.
Daczický died on 3 December 1880 in Prague, Smíchov. This Czech nobleman served as a commissioner of the Loket and Beroun regions and as a district governor in Nymburk. Daczický is buried in the Lesser Town Cemetery in Košíře, where he has a tombstone with his family emblem.


Literature :


Václav Měřička : Czech noble cross of 1814

Hello,


I would like to add this interesting award, strictly connected to the history of Bohemia. It was widely discussed from many authors, in the past and recently. Here, I add some good and detailed pictures of my piece, hoping that this could be helpful to fellow collectors.
Best wishes,
Elmar Lang


Translation done with http://traduttore.babylon.com :
Hello,
I would like to add this interesting find, strictly related to the history of Bohemia. It has been widely discussed from many authors, in the past and recently. Here I add some good and detailed photos of my piece, hoping it might be useful to fellow collectors.
All the best,
Elmar Lang