Item number: M332

Year: AD 1850s

Material: Gold and Enamel

Size: 34.1 x 28.7 x 6.2 mm

Weight: 9.95 g

Provenance: Morton & Eden 2024

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May AD 1725.

The Order’s title (Bath) refers to a part of the elaborate medieval ceremony which preceded the appointing of a knight. Except on the battlefield, the honour of knighthood was not conferred until the candidates had prepared themselves first by cleansing their body – immersing themselves in a bath and then by purifying their soul through fasting, vigils, and prayer.

The Order of the Bath was founded as a regular military order on the advice of the first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole (in office AD 1721-42), who saw the Order’s potential as a source for political rewards. The Order was instituted with a single class known as Knight Companion (KB), with 35 appointments available.

The Statutes set out 7 officers within the Order, including the roles of Sovereign and Great Master; the first of whom was John Montagu, second Duke of Montagu and Principal Knight Companion. These original knights were mainly supporters of Walpole, either in the House of Lords or the Commons. However, this practice for awarding the Order as compensation for political support soon ceased, and it is now conferred as a reward either for outstanding military service or exemplary civilian merit.The Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey was designated the official Chapel of the Order and the first installation of Knights took place in the Chapel on the 21st June AD 1725.  The installation of armorial Chapel Stall plates was included in the ceremony; a tradition that still takes place today.

The ceremonies of bathing, vigils, and fasting, although meticulously described in the Statutes of the Order, have never been performed.

Prior to AD 1815, the order had only a single class – Knight Companion. In 1815 the Prince Regent (later George IV) found it necessary to reward many distinguished Army and Naval Officers at the end of the Napoleonic Wars and decided to expand the Order from a single class to three classes; Knight Grand Cross, Knight Commander, and Companion. The Order went through a further restructure in AD 1847 when Queen Victoria issued new Statutes for the Order to reflect the “altered state and circumstances of society.” The word “military” was removed from the title of the Order and civilian appointments were made to all levels.

Knights and Dames Grand Cross use the post-nominal GCB; Knights Commander use KCB; Dames Commander use DCB; Companions use CB.

This is a reduced size version of the Military Order of the Bath, Companion C.B. Its appearance features a white Maltese cross outlined in gold, with a small gold ball adorning each of its points. Additionally, the corners of the cross are decorated with golden lions.

At the centre of the order is an upright sceptre adorned with a rose and thistle branch, symbolising unity, with three crowns suspended along the sceptre. Surrounding it, a red enamel ring bears the motto “TRIA JUNCTA IN UNO” (Three Joined in One). The outermost edge features a laurel wreath, while a blue scroll at the bottom is inscribed in gold with “ICH DIEN” (I Serve).

物件編號: M332

年代: 公元 1850 年代

材質: 黃金, 琺瑯

尺寸: 34.1 x 28.7 x 6.2 mm

重量: 9.95 g

來源: 莫頓與伊登 2024

最尊貴的巴斯勳章是由喬治一世國王於公元1725年5月18日創立的英國騎士團。該勳章的名稱“沐浴 ”（Bath）指的是中世紀儀式中騎士任命之前的一部分。除了戰場外，騎士頭銜只有在候選人通過清潔自己的身體（浸泡在浴池中），然後通過禁食、守夜和祈禱淨化自己的靈魂之後才會被授予。

浴禮騎士團是根據首任首相羅伯特·沃波爾（在位公元1721-1742年）的建議作為一個常規的軍事騎士團建立的，他看到該勳章作為政治獎勵的潛力。該騎士團最初只設立巴斯勛爵士（Knight Companion，KB） ，共有35個名額。法規規定了騎士團內的7名官員，包括君主和大師的角色；首任大師是約翰·蒙塔古，蒙塔古公爵第二代和主要騎士同伴。這些最初的騎士主要是沃波爾的支持者，無論是在上議院還是下議院。然而，作為政治支持的獎勵而授予該勳章的做法很快停止，現在它作為對傑出的軍事服務或傑出的民事功績的獎勵而授予。威斯敏斯特大教堂的亨利七世教堂被指定為該騎士團的正式教堂，第一批騎士的就職儀式於公元1725年6月21日在教堂舉行。教堂座位上的鎧甲盾牌的安裝也包括在典禮中；這一傳統至今仍在進行。

儘管騎士團的法規詳細描述了沐浴、守夜和禁食的儀式，但這些儀式從未進行過。

在公元1815年之前，該騎士團只有一個級別—巴斯勛爵士 。然而，在公元1815年，攝政王（後來的喬治四世）發現有必要在拿破崙戰爭結束時獎勵許多杰出的陸軍和海軍軍官，並決定將該騎士團從一個級別擴展到三個級別：爵級大十字 、爵級司令和勛爵士。隨後，在公元1847年，維多利亞女王頒布了新的法規，以反映騎士團的“變化狀態和社會情況”，將“軍事”一詞從騎士團的名稱中刪除，並向所有級別開放了民事任命。爵級大十字授勳者使用後綴稱號 GCB；爵級司令 使用 KCB；女爵級司令 使用 DCB；勛爵士使用 CB。

這枚縮小版的軍事三等巴期勳章。外觀為一個鑲有金邊的白色馬爾他十字架，各個頂端都飾有一顆小金球。並且在十字架的角落以金獅子作為裝飾。

正中央為直立的權杖和分岔出一朵玫瑰和薊花，並且有三頂皇冠掛在權杖上。周圍的紅色琺瑯有訓言 “TRIA JUNCTA IN UNO” (三者合一)。最外圍為月桂花環，下方一藍色卷軸以燙金鐫刻 “ICH DIEN” (我侍奉)。