74 - Duchy of Anhalt, lanyard, also aiguillette for gala livery, crowned shield of arms, before 1918

Duchy of Anhalt, lanyard, also aiguillette for gala livery, crowned shield of arms, before 1918 Cloth, silver thread, metal. Lanyard, also aiguillette for gala livery, with shoulder piece of the Duchy of Anhalt. Pear-shaped shoulder piece with red cloth field, edged with a ribbed silver-coloured metal braid and a dark green cord, at the top a gold-coloured pierced arched crown with beaded bands and orb on dark green velvet, in the centre an applied gold-coloured stamped shield of arms in a cartouche with scrolled edges beneath a crown, per pale, dexter a demi-eagle, sinister a crancelin, the lesser arms of the Duchy of Anhalt. Attached two braided strands and loops of silver thread shot with dark thread, two cord ends with baluster-shaped metal tips, each with a small pierced crown at the base. On the reverse a cloth tab with buttonhole and metal hook for hanging in, black stamp, illegible. Worn condition commensurate with age, outer and middle beaded bands of the crown missing. L. 102 cm. The Duchy of Anhalt came into being in 1863 when, on the extinction of the Anhalt-Bernburg line, its territory passed to Anhalt-Dessau-Köthen; the residence was Dessau and the reigning house the Ascanians, who had also provided margraves of Brandenburg and dukes of Saxony. Their arms of pretension show, per pale, Brandenburg with the red eagle and Saxony with the crancelin. The colours of the Ascanians were red, green and white. In the 19th century aiguillettes were made in gold for generals and in silver for adjutants, and in the Bundeswehr they are called Fangschnur (lanyard); aiguillettes of this type with a shoulder piece for hooking in, crown and shield of arms were worn as an aiguillette or lackey’s cord with the gala livery of the servants of a court. A lackey was a paid servant in livery. The last Duke of Anhalt abdicated on 12 November 1918.