Austria, Imperial. An Order Of The Iron Crown, Grand Cross, By Rothe

(Kaiserlicher Orden der Eisernen Krone, Großkreuz). Reinstituted in 1815 by Emperor Franz I. Type III. Military Division. 1914-1918 Issue. Exhibiting physical characteristics of C.F. Rothe manufacturing, a late hollow Habsburg-style imperial eagle in bronze gilt, consisting of a highly detailed double-headed crowned eagle clutching an orb and a sword on each claw, the chest bearing a central enameled blue shield with gilded monogram of Franz I, flanked by two nicely enameled green laurel branches with gilded edges, surmounted by an enameled red Habsburg crown with two tapering ribbons, supported by an ornamented Iron Crown with enameled green, red and white details, the reverse with a central enameled blue shield dating re-institution date “1815”, marked with a six-pointed star hallmark indicating bronze-gilt construction, measuring 45.32 mm (w) x 79.89 mm (h), light contract, suspended by ornamented typical loop suspension on a very well-preserved full-length period sash with rosette, near mint condition.

Footnote: The Order of the Iron Crown was originally established by Napoleon Bonaparte on June 5, 1805, just a few days after his coronation as the King of Italy. This order was awarded for services to the crown in military, administration, arts and literature. When the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom joined the Austrian Empire in 1814, under the control of the Emperor of Austria, the Napoleonic order of the Iron Crown became the Austrian ‘imperial’ dynastic order. On January 1816, new statues were approved by Emperor Franz I, and the order was officially restored. With the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, the order was formally abolished.