ANNEAU DE FIDÉLITÉ DES GARDES DU CORPS DU ROI AYANT APPARTENU À LOUIS MOUGIN, RESTAURATION.
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KING'S BODYGUARDS' FIDELITY RING BELONGING TO LOUIS MOUGIN, RESTORATION PERIOD.
Fidelity ring of the model worn by the "Grenadiers à Cheval" company in gilded copper, adorned with foliage. Round setting engraved with a bursting grenade with the inscription "Honneur et Patrie" and "Honneur et Fidélité" in two coats of arms on either side; inside, two crossed hands engraved with "Mis de la Rochejaquelein", "Mougin. L. 1815".
Good condition, signs of wear.
France.
Restoration Period.
BIOGRAPHY:
This concerns Louis Mougin born on May 20, 1780 in Brouville, Meurthe, and a member of the King's bodyguards in 1822.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
With the unexpected return of the Emperor to France in February 1815, Louis XVIII left Paris for Ghent.
Rings with two swords motif:
The military personnel of the royal army who followed him to Belgium received a certificate signed by the Duke of Berry, attesting to their service in that army. The officers decided to have a ring made with two crossed swords and the motto: "My life to the king, my heart to the ladies." "This ring, recently made, also contains the initials of the royal family: L, MT, P, A, F, C. (Louis XVIII, Marie-Thérèse Duchess of Angoulême, Louis-Philippe Duke of Orléans, Antoine Duke of Angoulême, Ferdinand Duke of Berry, Charles Count of Artois). It also bears the name of the recipient, along with the date and place of crossing the border. These rings are only made or delivered upon presentation of the certificate.
• One ring belonged to Jacques Brasseur, artillery train conductor in the King's Guard Companies. It is dated on the bezel: Ghent, March 17, 1815. The inside is engraved "Brasseur Jacques artillery conductor of the Royal Guard" with a coat of arms bearing the initials: L, M.T, P, A, F, C. This conductor was likely part of the artillery trains in the Guard Companies.
• Another example is dated March 25, 1815, the bezel is a small hinged oval box serving as a reliquary; it bears the inscription "Mis de Monpezat, Major staff officer of the Mre de la Gre", and at the height of the bezel, in a heart-shaped coat of arms, the capital letters L. MT. P. A. F. Similarly, another example from March 1815 belonged to Gérard de Contamine d'Arimont, Guard of the King's bodyguards. On a ring of the same model from the Valles family (or Hozier), the bezel also forms a small reliquary box, dated "Ypres March 25, 1815."
• An example from the former Thierry Marais collection attributed to a guard of the King's bodyguards.
• Three other examples in private collections.
• An example attributed to G.M.G. Herman, with "GHENT. 3 MAY 1815" on the perimeter of the bezel.
• A ring given to Louis François Xavier Duliège d'Aunis (or d'Arrest), chevau-léger of the King's Military Household, awarded on May 24, 1815 (private collection).
• A ring given to Ferdinand de Cacheleu (1784), guard of the King's bodyguards, at "GHENT, MAY 28, 1815."
• A ring given to Chevalier de Canolle dated "Ghent / March 1815," featuring a miniature of Louis XVIII in the bezel background.
• Two rings given to Viscount d'Hardouineau, aide-de-camp of Louis XVIII, Guard of the King's Bodyguards, one dated May 24, 1815, and the other dated May 25, 1815 in Ypres.
Rings with specific models for the King's Household:
As Gabriel Cottreau wrote in 1904 in an article published in the magazine La Sabretache: "The Restoration is the only period in our history where military personnel have been seen wearing rings recalling their service in a unit or their participation in a campaign. This practice began within the King's Household and spread to the companies of the Maison Rouge: gendarmes, chevau-légers, and musketeers, as well as in the company of the grenadiers à cheval, mainly when these units were disbanded." Upon the disbandment of Louis XVIII's Maison Rouge, the officers of the companies were given a gold ring with the company's distinctive emblem on the bezel as a rallying symbol. Thus, rings for the Musketeers were decorated with the cross of each Company, with the number 1 or 2 in the center of the cross; for the Gendarmes, Jupiter's spindle was adorned with the company's motto "Quo jubet iratus Jupiter"; for the Chevau-Légers, the fleur-de-lis Thunderbolt with the motto "Sensère Gigantes" and below, the date of the company's creation "1593"; the ring for the Grenadiers à cheval was in silver or vermeil with a flaming grenade.
These rings are rare, and thanks to the prestigious Raoul and Jean Brunon collections acquired by the state in 1967, the Museum of the Army has in its collections a ring of the Grenadiers à Cheval (currently exhibited at the Château de l'Empéri in Salon de Provence);
• a second copy was reproduced in the early notebooks of La Sabretache (possibly the same copy from the Brunon collection?). Gabriel Cottreau, in the article mentioned at the beginning of our discussion, writes: "It is a tradition in our paternal family, where we had a great-uncle musketeer in 1814 and 1815, that, a few days before ceasing their service, the musketeers were presented by their leaders to the Duchess of Angoulême to bid her farewell. During this audience, the princess, after expressing her satisfaction at being among true French knights, had trays laden with silver rings brought in and distributed them to the musketeers. My great-uncle was part of the 2nd company, which would explain the metal of the ring still preserved by his descendants. The ring is plain, with a shield-shaped bezel bearing imaginary coat of arms whose meaning has always escaped us."
• An example of the Grenadiers à Cheval model: belonged to Perrot.
• An example of the Grenadiers à Cheval model: belonged to Delessert.
• Lieutenant-Colonel Titeux, in his History of the King's Household, describes a ring that belonged to the Count of Baillon, with the initials "L.M.T.P.A.P." engraved inside the ring, further stating "The Count of Baillon, Black Musketeer."
• An example of the Grenadiers à Cheval model: belonged to J. Bondele (silver bezel).
• An example of the Grenadiers à Cheval model: belonged to J. Galabert (vermeil bezel).
• An example of the Grenadiers à Cheval model: belonged to Louis Mougin Guard of the King's Bodyguards in 1822 (copper bezel).
• A gilded bronze example attributed to the grenadiers à cheval, with a circular bezel adorned with a flaming grenade encircled by the corps' motto "Undique Terror, Undique Letum" (everywhere terror, everywhere death), surrounded by two cartridges engraved with "Honour" and "Fidelity", the interior featuring a raised faith symbol, originating from the Canolle family.
• An example of the Grenadiers à Cheval model: belonged to B Smidtte.
SOURCES:
• History of the King's Military Household, Eugène Titeux, Paris, 1890.
• Military Rings of 1815 and 1824, Gabriel Cottreau, Carnets de la Sabretache, Paris, March 1904.
• The ring in France throughout history, Maximin Deloche, Librairie de Paris, Firmin-Didot et Cie, 56 rue Jacob.
Fidelity ring of the model worn by the "Grenadiers à Cheval" company in gilded copper, adorned with foliage. Round setting engraved with a bursting grenade with the inscription "Honneur et Patrie" and "Honneur et Fidélité" in two coats of arms on either side; inside, two crossed hands engraved with "Mis de la Rochejaquelein", "Mougin. L. 1815".
Good condition, signs of wear.
France.
Restoration Period.
BIOGRAPHY:
This concerns Louis Mougin born on May 20, 1780 in Brouville, Meurthe, and a member of the King's bodyguards in 1822.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
With the unexpected return of the Emperor to France in February 1815, Louis XVIII left Paris for Ghent.
Rings with two swords motif:
The military personnel of the royal army who followed him to Belgium received a certificate signed by the Duke of Berry, attesting to their service in that army. The officers decided to have a ring made with two crossed swords and the motto: "My life to the king, my heart to the ladies." "This ring, recently made, also contains the initials of the royal family: L, MT, P, A, F, C. (Louis XVIII, Marie-Thérèse Duchess of Angoulême, Louis-Philippe Duke of Orléans, Antoine Duke of Angoulême, Ferdinand Duke of Berry, Charles Count of Artois). It also bears the name of the recipient, along with the date and place of crossing the border. These rings are only made or delivered upon presentation of the certificate.
• One ring belonged to Jacques Brasseur, artillery train conductor in the King's Guard Companies. It is dated on the bezel: Ghent, March 17, 1815. The inside is engraved "Brasseur Jacques artillery conductor of the Royal Guard" with a coat of arms bearing the initials: L, M.T, P, A, F, C. This conductor was likely part of the artillery trains in the Guard Companies.
• Another example is dated March 25, 1815, the bezel is a small hinged oval box serving as a reliquary; it bears the inscription "Mis de Monpezat, Major staff officer of the Mre de la Gre", and at the height of the bezel, in a heart-shaped coat of arms, the capital letters L. MT. P. A. F. Similarly, another example from March 1815 belonged to Gérard de Contamine d'Arimont, Guard of the King's bodyguards. On a ring of the same model from the Valles family (or Hozier), the bezel also forms a small reliquary box, dated "Ypres March 25, 1815."
• An example from the former Thierry Marais collection attributed to a guard of the King's bodyguards.
• Three other examples in private collections.
• An example attributed to G.M.G. Herman, with "GHENT. 3 MAY 1815" on the perimeter of the bezel.
• A ring given to Louis François Xavier Duliège d'Aunis (or d'Arrest), chevau-léger of the King's Military Household, awarded on May 24, 1815 (private collection).
• A ring given to Ferdinand de Cacheleu (1784), guard of the King's bodyguards, at "GHENT, MAY 28, 1815."
• A ring given to Chevalier de Canolle dated "Ghent / March 1815," featuring a miniature of Louis XVIII in the bezel background.
• Two rings given to Viscount d'Hardouineau, aide-de-camp of Louis XVIII, Guard of the King's Bodyguards, one dated May 24, 1815, and the other dated May 25, 1815 in Ypres.
Rings with specific models for the King's Household:
As Gabriel Cottreau wrote in 1904 in an article published in the magazine La Sabretache: "The Restoration is the only period in our history where military personnel have been seen wearing rings recalling their service in a unit or their participation in a campaign. This practice began within the King's Household and spread to the companies of the Maison Rouge: gendarmes, chevau-légers, and musketeers, as well as in the company of the grenadiers à cheval, mainly when these units were disbanded." Upon the disbandment of Louis XVIII's Maison Rouge, the officers of the companies were given a gold ring with the company's distinctive emblem on the bezel as a rallying symbol. Thus, rings for the Musketeers were decorated with the cross of each Company, with the number 1 or 2 in the center of the cross; for the Gendarmes, Jupiter's spindle was adorned with the company's motto "Quo jubet iratus Jupiter"; for the Chevau-Légers, the fleur-de-lis Thunderbolt with the motto "Sensère Gigantes" and below, the date of the company's creation "1593"; the ring for the Grenadiers à cheval was in silver or vermeil with a flaming grenade.
These rings are rare, and thanks to the prestigious Raoul and Jean Brunon collections acquired by the state in 1967, the Museum of the Army has in its collections a ring of the Grenadiers à Cheval (currently exhibited at the Château de l'Empéri in Salon de Provence);
• a second copy was reproduced in the early notebooks of La Sabretache (possibly the same copy from the Brunon collection?). Gabriel Cottreau, in the article mentioned at the beginning of our discussion, writes: "It is a tradition in our paternal family, where we had a great-uncle musketeer in 1814 and 1815, that, a few days before ceasing their service, the musketeers were presented by their leaders to the Duchess of Angoulême to bid her farewell. During this audience, the princess, after expressing her satisfaction at being among true French knights, had trays laden with silver rings brought in and distributed them to the musketeers. My great-uncle was part of the 2nd company, which would explain the metal of the ring still preserved by his descendants. The ring is plain, with a shield-shaped bezel bearing imaginary coat of arms whose meaning has always escaped us."
• An example of the Grenadiers à Cheval model: belonged to Perrot.
• An example of the Grenadiers à Cheval model: belonged to Delessert.
• Lieutenant-Colonel Titeux, in his History of the King's Household, describes a ring that belonged to the Count of Baillon, with the initials "L.M.T.P.A.P." engraved inside the ring, further stating "The Count of Baillon, Black Musketeer."
• An example of the Grenadiers à Cheval model: belonged to J. Bondele (silver bezel).
• An example of the Grenadiers à Cheval model: belonged to J. Galabert (vermeil bezel).
• An example of the Grenadiers à Cheval model: belonged to Louis Mougin Guard of the King's Bodyguards in 1822 (copper bezel).
• A gilded bronze example attributed to the grenadiers à cheval, with a circular bezel adorned with a flaming grenade encircled by the corps' motto "Undique Terror, Undique Letum" (everywhere terror, everywhere death), surrounded by two cartridges engraved with "Honour" and "Fidelity", the interior featuring a raised faith symbol, originating from the Canolle family.
• An example of the Grenadiers à Cheval model: belonged to B Smidtte.
SOURCES:
• History of the King's Military Household, Eugène Titeux, Paris, 1890.
• Military Rings of 1815 and 1824, Gabriel Cottreau, Carnets de la Sabretache, Paris, March 1904.
• The ring in France throughout history, Maximin Deloche, Librairie de Paris, Firmin-Didot et Cie, 56 rue Jacob.
Reference :
6579
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Only items sold by me are subject to an authenticity certificate, I do not provide any expert reports for items sold by third parties (colleagues or collectors).
FOR ALL PURCHASES, PAYMENT IN MULTIPLE CHECKS POSSIBLE
bertrand.malvaux@wanadoo.fr 06 07 75 74 63
An authenticity certificate of the item including the description published on the site, the period, the sale price, accompanied by one or more color photographs is automatically provided for any item priced over 130 euros. Below this price, each certificate is charged 5 euros.
Only items sold by me are subject to an authenticity certificate, I do not provide any expert reports for items sold by third parties (colleagues or collectors).