Item number: M24

Year: AD 1855-1900

Material: Gold and Enamel

Size: 100.0 x 40.0 mm

Weight: 20.5 g

Manufactured by: Stockholm, C.F. Carlman

Provenance: Liverpool Medals 2022

The Royal Order of Vasa (Kungliga Vasaorden) was established by King Gustav III of Sweden in AD 1772. It is a national honor awarded in four classes to individuals who have made contributions in fields such as agriculture, mining, arts, craftsmanship, technological development, commerce, education, and humanities, with no restrictions based on background or gender.

This Order is the First Class Knight of the Royal Order of Vasa, First Class Knight. The order has a total of five classes, and the First Class Knight’s insignia is worn with a green ribbon on the left side of the chest.(Refer to the table for details) Upon the recipient’s death, the Order must be returned to the state by the family.

This insignia is a white enamel Maltese cross, with each side embedded with a crown at a specific angle, and the top adorned with a crown decoration connected by a pin.

The Second Knight Class was crafted in silver, while the other classes were gold. However, during the era of World War I, most nations encountered financial strains. Consequently, there was a gradual shift towards replacing solid gold materials with gilt.

Both sides of the insignia feature the same design, with the central motif of a sheaf of wheat, known as Vasakärven in Swedish. It is derived from the coat of arms of the prominent Swedish royal family, the House of Vasa. In the AD 1930s, this symbol became controversial as it was briefly associated with the far-right in Sweden. However, after multiple reviews by the Swedish Minister of Justice, it was determined that the symbol itself was not directly linked to inciting ethnic hatred.

The red enamel circle with a gold border, connecting the sheaf of wheat motif through an openwork technique, bears the legend in Swedish: “GUSTAF III INSTIKTARE MDCXXII.” The meaning is “Established by Gustav III in the year 1772,” with MDCCXXII representing the Roman numeral representation of 1772.

In AD 1855, C.F. Carlman, founded by Carl Frederik Carlman in Stockholm, marked the right side of the cross with the jeweler’s maker mark “CFC Crown Design” and the gold purity mark “13K D9.” Carl Frederik Carlman’s exceptional craftsmanship led the company to handle the production of Swedish medals from AD 1875 to AD 1904, with business expansion into European countries such as France and Norway.

物件編號: M24

年代: 公元 1855-1900 年

材質: 黃金, 琺瑯

尺寸: 100.0 x 40.0 mm

重量: 20.5 g

製造地: 斯德哥爾摩, C.F. Carlman公司

來源: 利物浦獎章 2022

皇家瓦薩勳章 (Kungliga Vasaorden)由瑞典國王古斯塔夫三世於公元1772年設立，以國家四等榮譽頒予軍事領域外，在農礦、藝術、手工藝、技術開發、商業、教學和文科領域做出貢獻的人士，對於出身背景和性別都沒有限制。

此勳章為一等騎士級，皇家瓦薩勳章依序有五個等級，一等騎士級勳章以綠色繫帶別在左胸上。(見表格) 授勳者過世後，遺族必須將勳章歸還給國家。勳章整體外觀為一枚白色琺瑯的馬耳他十字，四邊各以特定角度跟皇冠鑲嵌，頂端則以一頂皇冠裝飾和別針相連。

二等騎士級以銀打造外，其他等級皆為金質打造。不過第一次世界大戰結束後，多數國家面臨國庫枯竭的困境，因此逐漸以鍍金取代實金材質。綬章兩面的設計皆相同，正中央出現的禾束圖騰，瑞典語稱作Vasakärven，出處是瑞典最為顯赫的皇室貴族：瓦薩家族的家徽。公元1930年代，該圖騰一度成為瑞典極右翼符號引發爭議，不過經瑞典司法大臣多次審議後，裁定該圖騰跟煽動族群仇恨無直接關聯。

以鏤空工法連接禾束圖騰的鑲金邊紅色琺瑯圓環，上方以瑞典文寫有「GUSTAF III INSTIKTARE MDCXXII」。意思皆是「古斯塔夫三世於公元1772年創立」，MDCCXXII是1772的羅馬數字拼法。

右方十字架的側邊，則有珠寶製造商C.F. Carlman「CFC 皇冠圖案」商標跟金飾純度「13K D9」標記。公元1855年C.F. Carlman公司由創辦人：Carl Frederik Carlman創立於首都斯德哥爾摩。Carl Frederik Carlman以他的精湛手藝，使公司包辦瑞典於公元1875至1904年的勳章製作，業務更拓展到法國跟挪威等歐洲國家。