Russia, Imperial. An Order Of Saint Stanislaus In Gold, Iii Class, C.1900

Орден Святого Станислава. Instituted in 1765. In Gold with red enamels, handpainted "S" on both centrepieces, weighing 17.1 grams, marked "56" beside the St. Petersburg city mark on the reverse of the integral ring, partial mark of the Russian coat-of-arms on the arm at 12 o'clock and maker marked "AK" (Albert Keibel, St. Petersburg, 1899-1908) on the arm at 6 o'clock on the reverse, measuring 40.3 mm (w) x 43.8 mm (h) inclusive of its integral suspension, light contact, intact enamels, near extremely fine.

Footnote: The Order of Saint Stanislaus was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Kingdom of Poland between 1765 and 1831, and was incorporated under the Russian Empire from 1831 to 1917, until the Russian revolution. Today, there are two recognized orders that claim descent from the original Order of Saint Stanislaus: the Russian dynastic Order of Saint Stanislaus (Imperial House of Romanov), awarded by the head of the House of Romanov as former sovereigns of the Russian Empire, and the Polish Order of Polonia Restituta, a governmental order of merit awarded by the President of Poland and considered by some as a type of successor. The original Polish badge of the order was a red enameled Maltese cross with white enameled Polish eagles between its arms and with a central medallion bearing an enameled image of Saint Stanislaus in his episcopal vestment surrounded by a gold laurel wreath. In its original Polish form the knights of the Order wore a red, white and silver habit modelled on the traditional dress of a Polish nobleman. In the Russian version of the badge, the Polish white eagles were replaced with gold Russian double-headed imperial eagles, their wings partially overlapping the arms of the cross and the central medallion bearing the letters "SS" in red on a white enamel background instead of the original image of the saintly bishop, surrounded by a green enamel laurel wreath. There is also a semi-circle of gold rays between each of the points of arms of the Maltese cross.