181 - RARE SILVER PLAQUE OF THE ORDER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT BELONGED TO THE DUKE OF BERRY

RARE SILVER PLAQUE OF THE ORDER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT BELONGED TO THE DUKE OF BERRY Silver knight’s plaque, chiseled with diamond-pointed motifs and re-pierced with four double rays featuring buttoned tips; corners adorned with fleurs-de-lis. Central section in the shape of a radiant sun, depicting a descending dove with outstretched wings; the reverse features silver hooks and a folding pin. Diameter: 13 cm. Presented in an ebony frame adorned with a gilded brass cartouche engraved with the inscription: “Badge of the Order of the Holy Spirit worn by His Royal Highness the Duke of Berry. Murdered on February 14, 1820.” Frame: H. 23.8 x W. 15.9 cm. Provenance - Charles-Ferdinand d’Artois, Duke of Berry (1778–1820). - His aide-de-camp, Count Eugène d’Astorg (1787–1852). - Coutau-Bégarie auction, Drouot, March 3, 2010, lot 119. - Sotheby’s Paris auction, Hubert Guerrand-Hermès Collection: “Around the Duchess of Berry,” December 15, 2023, lot 579 (described without provenance). History After serving in Napoleon’s armies, notably at Austerlitz, Eylau, Friedland, and during the Spanish War, Eugène d’Astorg sided with the Bourbons in 1814. He joined the king’s bodyguard, serving in the Gramont Company, and later became an aide-de-camp to Charles-Ferdinand d’Artois, Duke of Berry (1778–1820), son of the future Charles X. In 1815, during the Hundred Days, he accompanied the Duke of Berry to Ghent, where Louis XVIII had taken refuge. After the assassination of the Duke of Berry on February 13, 1820, he was assigned to the household of the young Duke of Bordeaux, the posthumous son of the murdered prince. He was subsequently given command of the 6th Hussar Regiment and took part in the 1823 expedition to Spain.