An ancient order of chivalry founded in the twelfth century by the first Portuguese monarch, the Order of the Knights of Saint Benedict of Avis followed the Benedictine rule and was under the Cistercians. In 1789, Pope Pius VI and Queen Maria I of Portugal (r. 1777-1816) reformed the order transforming it into a secular institution which, in 1834 after the abolishment of the religious orders, lost its extensive properties. Between 1789 and 1834 membership was limited to three Knight Grand Crosses (extended to six in 1796), forty-nine Knights Commanders, and an unlimited number of Knights. Like the other Portuguese orders of chivalry, this ancient military order was then transformed into a mere order of merit, the privileges that once had been a vital part of their membership also ceasing. It was ultimately abolished in 1910 with the end of the Portuguese monarchy.

This insignia of the Order of Avis was made to be suspended on a green silk ribbon around the neck, and thus called de lançar ao pescoço, in contrast with smaller ones meant to be pinned to the lapel, called de lapela.[1] This insignia of the first quarter of the nineteenth century, Neoclassical in style, features two sections.[2] An upper one in the shape of a narrow ribbon with slender branches with minute leaves fitted with a loop through which the insignia would be suspended from. And a lower dangling section comprising the cross. Made from silver, its carefully calibrated colourless gemstones (hyaline quartz or rock crystal) are closed set on reflective metallic foil. The cutting patterns used are the brilliant cut, their shape and contour (round, cushion, oval, pear-shaped, navette, etc.) adapted to the metal setting, and also, for the arms of the cross, the simplified emerald cut (not tiered or stepped), with its typical crown and pavilion corners. Fitted on the underside with its original oblong loop, as to permit the entry of the silk ribbon, this insignia was later transformed into a brooch, being fitted with a pin.

Usually, the cross of the insignia of the Order of Avis would be green, following the heraldic colours of the order, with the more costly examples being set with emeralds and others with green substitute materials, namely glass. In the present example, all of the stones are colourless and set on reflective metallic foil which was never coloured. In contrast with contemporary insignia of the Order of Christ and even those of the Order of Santiago, examples such as the present insignia of the Order of Avis are rare, and no example is to be found in the collection of the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga.[3] A rare late eighteenth-century insignia of the Order of Avis (9.4 cm in height), set with pale green chrysoberyls and the cross made from green-glass stones was recently published by Diana Scarisbrick.[4] A design for an insignia of the Order of Avis with the cross painted green, from around 1830, and another for a badge of the same order, belongs to a sketchbook by José António Mourão in the archive of jewellery house José Rosas.[5]

Hugo Miguel Crespo

Centre for History, University of Lisbon

[1] See Gonçalo de Vasconcelos e Sousa, “As cores da honra: jóias-insígnias das ordens militares em Portugal (1750-1825)”, in M. Antonia Herradón Figueroa (ed.), II Congreso Europeo de Joyería. Vestir las joyas. Modas y modelos, Madrid, Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, 2015, pp. 209-225. On this type of jewels, see also António Filipe Pimentel, “A Honra e os seus ícones. Sobre a joalharia de função”, Oceanos, 43 (2000), pp. 94-110.

[2] On the changing styles of Portuguese jewellery of this period, see Gonçalo de Vasconcelos e Sousa, A Joalharia em Portugal, 1750-1825, Porto, Civilização editora, 1999.

[3] See Leonor d’Orey, Cinco Séculos de Joalharia. Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisboa, Lisboa, Instituto Português de Museus - Zwemmer, 1995, pp. 82-83.

[4] See Diana Scarisbrick, The S. J. Phillips Collection of Jewels of Portugal (cat.), London, Sotheby’s - S. J. Phillips, 2017, p. 51, cat. 35.

[5] See Gonçalo de Vasconcelos e Sousa, “As cores da honra: jóias-insígnias das ordens militares em Portugal (1750-1825)”, in M. Antonia Herradón Figueroa (ed.), II Congreso Europeo de Joyería. Vestir las joyas. Modas y modelos, Madrid, Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, 2015, p. 216, figs. 11-12.