A badge of the Order of Christ (or placa) shaped like a radiant sun, to be used fastened onto the left side of the garment.1 It is made exclusively from brilliant-cut diamonds (old cuts), virtually all cushion-shaped and not exactly round, probably all Brazilian in origin.2 They are set in silver so as to highlight their colourless quality, despite a slight yellow tinted in some of them.3 The 248 diamonds are combined with seventy-eitght perfectly calibrated brilliant- and table-cut rubies set in gold that form the shape of the small cross in the centre and the aming Sacred Heart of Jesus on top; an iconographical addition to these insignia ordered by Maria I (r. 1777-1816), queen of Portugal, in 1789.4 The crown of thorns, around the heart, feature twenty table-cut emeralds also set in gold. As is customary, the back of this piece is faced with sheet gold set with a sturdy gold pin for fastening. The open setting of the stones was still rare in this period - the most prolific time in terms of Portuguese jewellery production, when the highest quality materials available and the best craftsmanship were used and follow the innovations in setting styles introduced in Portuguese eighteenth-century court jewellery by Adam Gottlieb Pollet (†1785) and his son David Ambrosius Pollet.5 Originally from Gdansk, in present-day Poland, Adam became court jeweller to Maria I from 1777. In 1784 he made a pendant medallion set with a large Ceylonese sapphire which still survives in the Portuguese royal collection (Palácio Nacional da Ajuda, Lisbon, inv. 4782).6 His son David Ambrosius produced many remarkable jewels for the royal family (some still surviving), ordered for special occasions, namely the marriage between the Prince Dom José and Dona Carlota Joaquina in 1786. His most important jewels, dating from the late 1780s, are still part of the Portuguese Crown Jewels housed in the Palácio Nacional da Ajuda, including the large insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece made in 1790, for the Prince Dom João, by Ambrosius Pollet. Its diamonds are mostly cushion and pear-shaped brilliant-cuts and are also set à jour.7 The extraordinary workmanship as seen from the openwork back is similar to that of the present badge, especially on the thicker armature of the bow (with its alveoli in gold), an almost transparent structure which could only have been made by a master jeweller. Pieces like this one, fully set with diamonds, have survived small numbers when compared with similar examples featuring less valuable colourless gemstones cut according to the styles used for diamonds (such as topaz, pale chrysoberyl and aquamarine, and most often rock crystal), given the propensity for removing the precious stones an mount them on other more fashionable jewels. Weighing approximately 31.55 metric carats, the material value of the diamonds used in this badge combined with the superior craftsmanship of their settings, clearly indicates a noble or princely commission, probably from within the Portuguese royal family.
1 Published by Nuno Vassallo e Silva, “Placa da Ordem de Cristo”, in Pedro Dias et al.,Masterpieces. Pegadas dos Portugueses no Mundo, Lisboa, AR-PAB, 2010, pp. 72-79.
2 On Brazilian diamonds, see Darcy P. Svisero, James E. Shigley, Robert Weldon, “Brazilian Diamonds: A Historical and Recent Perspective”, Gems & Gemology, Spring 2017, p. 2-33.
3 On this type of honori c jewellery, see António Filipe Pimentel, “Honra e esplendor; da joalharia honorí ca portuguesa do século XVIII”, in Gonçalo de Vasconcelos e Sousa (ed.), I Colóquio Português de Ourivesaria, Porto, Círculo Dr. José de Figueiredo, 1999, pp. 177-197; and 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.
4 On the gemstone cutting styles used in eighteenth-century Portuguese jewellery and precious metalwork, especially in liturgical objects, see Rui Galopim de Carvalho, “Breve apontamento sobre as pedras preciosas no aparato em Portugal”, in António Filipe Pimentel et al. (eds.), Splendor et Gloria. Cinco joias setecentistas de exceção (cat.), Lisboa, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, 2014, pp. 122-131; and Rui Galopim de Carvalho, “Evolution of Diamond Cuts in Portuguese Jewellery and Sacred Objects During the 16th-18th Centuries: A Brief Review”, The Journal of Gemmology, 34.2, 2014, pp. 114- 128
5 On the Pollet jewellers in Portugal, see Gonçalo de Vasconcelos e Sousa, “O testamento de Adam Gottlieb Pollet, «Engastador da Pedraria» da Casa Real”, Museu, 6, 1997, pp. 233-239; Nuno Vassallo e Silva, “Os Pollet, joalheiros de D. Maria I”, Oceanos, 43, 2000, pp. 66-76; and Isabel Mayer Godinho Mendonça, “Os Pollet, uma dinastia de joalheiros ao serviço da Casa Real Portuguesa - novos dados biográ cos”, in Gonçalo de Vasconcelos e Sousa (ed.), Actas do III Colóquio Português de Ourivesaria, Porto, Universidade Católica do Porto, 2012, pp. 75-112.
6 Isabel Silveira Godinho (ed.), Tesouros Reais (cat.), Lisboa, Palácio Nacional da Ajuda - Instituto Português do Património Cultural, 1991, cat. 33, p. 62.
7 Isabel Silveira Godinho (ed.), Tesouros [...], cat. 251, pp. 153-155.