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Lot Essay
Louis Gustave Lannes, Marquis de Montebello was the French Ambassador to St. Petersburg in 1891.
'Peter I established the Order of St. Catherine in 1713 in commemoration of the heroic deeds of his consort, the future empress Catherine I, during the battle on the river Pruth, Moldavia, against the Turkish sultan in 1717. The order was bestowed upon her on 24 November 1714, her name day.'...
' The name of the order was confirmed as the Imperial Order of Saint Catherine the Great Martyr or the Order of Deliverance'...'and was devided into two classes: 1) ladies of the grand cross '...'and 2) ladies of the smaller cross'... 'The number of ladies holding the former cross was limited to twelve, and the latter, to ninety-four.'...
All female members of the imperial family were awarded the grand cross of the order, as were members of foreign imperial and royal families, and in exceptional cases, highly distinquished ladies of the Russian aristocracy.' ... 'Recipients of the smaller cross were ladies of the Russian aristocracy and the wives of prominent foreigners.' ... 'Bestowals of the order were decided upon by the emperor, but in practice the nomination of new ladies was made after due deliberation with the empress/grand mistress...' of the order.
(U. Tillander-Godenhielm, The Russian Imperial award system during the reign of Nicholas II (1894-1917), Helsinki, 2005, p. 101.)
'Peter I established the Order of St. Catherine in 1713 in commemoration of the heroic deeds of his consort, the future empress Catherine I, during the battle on the river Pruth, Moldavia, against the Turkish sultan in 1717. The order was bestowed upon her on 24 November 1714, her name day.'...
' The name of the order was confirmed as the Imperial Order of Saint Catherine the Great Martyr or the Order of Deliverance'...'and was devided into two classes: 1) ladies of the grand cross '...'and 2) ladies of the smaller cross'... 'The number of ladies holding the former cross was limited to twelve, and the latter, to ninety-four.'...
All female members of the imperial family were awarded the grand cross of the order, as were members of foreign imperial and royal families, and in exceptional cases, highly distinquished ladies of the Russian aristocracy.' ... 'Recipients of the smaller cross were ladies of the Russian aristocracy and the wives of prominent foreigners.' ... 'Bestowals of the order were decided upon by the emperor, but in practice the nomination of new ladies was made after due deliberation with the empress/grand mistress...' of the order.
(U. Tillander-Godenhielm, The Russian Imperial award system during the reign of Nicholas II (1894-1917), Helsinki, 2005, p. 101.)