The order of the Rose was
founded by the Emperor Dom Pedro I. on October 17, 1829, on
occasion of his second marriage to Amalie Princess of
Leuchtenberg. Dom Pedro I. who was besides his epileptic
seizures a tough character and had several mistresses. This
may be the reason why his first wife, Leopoldine of Austria,
deceased rather young, not even 30 years old, in 1826. They
had five children together, among them Maria Gloria, later
Queen of Spain, and Dom Pedro, who would be Dom Pedro I.
successor, called Dom Pedro II.
After the death of Leopoldine of
Austria, Dom Pedro I. went to Europe looking for a new wife.
Due to his history and the influence of the Austrian
chancellor Count Metternich a proper woman couldn't be
obtained. Therefore his mistress, at this time still living at
the Brazilian Court, was send away and negotiation with the
Bavarian court Pedro got engaged to Amalie von Leuchtenberg, a
daughter of the former Vice King of Italy, Eugen de
Beauharnais. He was made the Duke of Leuchtenberg by his
father in law King Maximilian von Bayern.
Two days after the engagement, October
17, 1829, the Order of the Rose was founded. Some say the
order was founded due to Pedro saying: "...beautiful as a
rose", looking at Amalie. The other theory was the fact that
Amalie liked the Rose's very much and he surprised her giving
her a diamond set grand cross badge upon her arrival in
Brazil. The last version should be the correct one.
Fact is the precise planning of this
order, proven by countless design drawings. The bear dates on
them starting 4 weeks before she arrived in Brazil.
avers cavaleiro cross |
reverse cavaleiro cross |
The order was awarded in 6 different
grades.
On April 6, 1831, Dom Pedro went into
exile with his daughter Maria Gloria and his wife to Spain and
gave his power to his underage son Dom Pedro, now Dom Pedro
II. The 5 year old was substituted by a council until he
turned 15 July 15, 1840. During 1831 and 1840 no order was
awarded. Afterwards the order was awarded quite often, since
Pedro had a strong connection to his mother. Therefore the
Order of the Rose became the most important in Brazil. In
addition to this the order was even more popular then the
classical Brazilian orders, as the order of the Southern
Cross, due to its pretty designs. The Grand Duke of Russia,
how was listed for the Grand Cross of the higher Order of The
Southern Cross, during a visit of Dom Pedro II. in Russia
asked the Emperor of Brazil for the Order of the Rose after
being given his Grand Cross set. Being asked for the reason,
he answered that the Rose Order had the more elegant design.
Needless to say, that he was given both orders.
After the revolution in 1889 the emperor
of Brazil left his country. He diseased in Paris December 5,
1891.
The order of the Rose is still a very
attractive decoration and quite rare. Looking at the number of
awards it is quite clear, that certain classes are pretty
difficult to obtain:
|
limits due to statues |
total number of bestowals |
|
|
Pedro I
(1829-1831) |
Pedro II
(1841-1889 |
Grão
Cruz |
|
7 |
157 |
efetivo |
8 |
|
|
honorario |
8 |
|
|
Grande Dignitario |
16 |
11 |
73 |
Dignitario |
32 |
11 |
288 |
Commendador |
unlimited |
27 |
1572 |
Oficial |
unlimited |
14 |
4118 |
Cavaleiro |
unlimited |
119 |
8937 |
The Grão
Cruz efetivo was worn with a collar of 54.5 cm length.
There are
a number of different manufactures for this order. The main
manufacture was Kretly in Paris and Wolfers in Brussels. This
made it difficult to determine the sizes of the different
badges of the order. Mr. G. Tammann came up with the following
measurements in [mm]:
|
badge |
star |
ribbon |
|
height x width |
point to point
diameter |
height x width |
point to point
diameter |
width |
Grão
Cruz |
|
|
|
|
101 (sash) |
efetivo |
112x64 |
73 + crown |
90x76 |
76 + crown |
|
honorario |
112x64 |
73 + crown |
90x76 |
76 + crown |
|
Grande Dignitario |
89x52 |
59 + crown |
85x72 |
72 + crown |
60 (neck ribbon)
since 1856 101 (sash) |
Dignitario |
55x50 |
55 |
72x72 |
72 |
60 |
Commendador |
70x41 |
46 + crown |
70x53
74x54 |
53 + crown
54 + crown |
60 (neck ribbon) |
Oficial |
43x43 |
43 |
53x53
63x63 |
53
63 |
35 (brest ribbon)
60 (neck ribbon) |
Cavaleiro |
49x31
55x38 |
31 + crown
38 + crown |
no star |
35 (breast ribbon) |
Compared to other decorations during this
time frame , the order of the rose was of rather small
diameter. The picture of the Bavarian officer Maximilian
Freiherr von Speidel showing a Commendador decoration looks in
comparison to his German decorations he is wearing on his
medal bar equal in size:
Other
manufactures are:
-
da Costa,
Lisbon
-
Lemaitre,
Paris
-
Resse, Rio
de Janeiro
-
Rothe
Vienna
Unfortunately
there is no way of making the differentiation between the
decorations awarded under Dom Pedro I. and Dom Pedro II. Even
though the crown was different, the change was not shown in
the design of the decoration. The only reliable basis is the
French control mark law. French made pieces made during the
regency of Dom Pedro I. show sometimes a ram (belier) mark if
in gold and the hare (lievre) mark if in silver (gilt). During
Pedro II's period the corresponding French marks are the eagle
(aigle) and the boar (sanglier).
The following pictures show a Grand
Dignitario Set made during the 2nd period under Dom Pedro II.
The cross is marked with the eagle punch mark for golden
pieces.
avers of the grand dignitario
cross |
reverse of the grand dignitario
cross |
detail of eagle mark |
star of the grand dignitario |
© A. Schulze
Ising, XII/00 |