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1948 dated French Legion of Honour (Officer) award with case and award document to Belgian Ambassador Raymond Herremans.
41mm wide five-pointed silver-gilt and white enamel Maltese cross with green enamel oak and laurel wreath between the arms, on green enamel oval oak and laurel wreath swivel suspension; the face with a circular central silver-gilt medallion bearing a female head facing right crowned with corn and laurel, representative of the French Republic, encircled by a deep blue enamel ring bearing the inscription in gilt letters ‘REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE * 1870’; the reverse with a circular central silver-gilt medallion bearing the civil and military French tricolours in blue, white and red enamel, encircled by a deep blue enamel ring inscribed in gilt letters ‘HONNEUR ET PATRIE’ (Honour and Country), gilt arabesques below, with ‘poinçon de crabe’ silver assay mark on the ribbon at the base; various chips to the white enamel, particularly the left/right arm of the face; on original ribbon with rosette denoting an award of the officer class. The medal is housed in the original carmine coloured leatherette award case, by Arthus Bertrand of Paris, which retains the silk and velvet interior. Gilt R.F. (Republique Francaise) embossed to top lid. The accompanying award certificate shows the award being made to Ambassador of Belgium Raymond Herremans, dated 2nd October 1948.
Mr. Raymond Herremans, served during the Great War as a Sergeant in the Corps of Interpreters, Belgian Army; entered the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and served successively as Minister Plenipotentiary of Belgium in Batavia; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belgium in Japan and Ambassador of Belgium in Sweden. Free postage worldwide for this piece.
The Ordre Royal, Imperial et National de la Legion d’Honneur was established by Napoleon Bonaparte on 19 May 1802 to be awarded for outstanding civil or military service to France. It has survived Empire, restoration of the Monarchy and five Republics. There have been at least a dozen major changes to the insignia and, indeed, the political history of the past 200 years of France may be traced on them. Since the suppression of the Ordre Militaire de Saint-Louis in 1830, the Ordre de la Legion d’Honneur has been France’s premier order.