Constantin Cross? | ||
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Posted 2 years ago
Villaret
(6 items)
Curious to find out about this cross. Regnum Adveniat Tuum (Thy Kingdom Come). In Hoc Signo Vinces (By this Sign, you will conquer). 312 at the bottom. Believe it may be something to do with WW1. Bought in France where I am living. Any information gratefully received.
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Hi, Villaret. :-)
Here is a similar one in gold:
*snip*
This cross reads on one side: "Adveniat Regnum Tuum", which translates to English in "Thy kingdom come". It's the title of a poem by Katharine Tynan (1861-1931). On the same side in the center of the cross we see a bleading [sic] burning heart enfolded by a wreath made of thistles and at the bottom there are two dates written in relief "1675" and "1915". On the other side of the cross there is also a Latin text: "M.HOC.SIGNO.VINCES", which is the Latin transparent translation of a Greek phrase meaning "in this sign you will conquer". Underneath at this side we can als read the number "312".
See also wikipedia for: "M.HOC.SIGNO.VINCES" and/or Katharine Tynan.
OBJECT GROUP : pendants
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN : France
STYLE : Vintage / Estate
PERIOD : 1915
SOURCE OF INSPIRATION : Christianity
THEME : Latin cross - There exist several types of crosses, and the one this pendant represents is a Latin cross on which, according to Augustinus, Christ was crucified.
*snip*
https://www.adin.be/fr/2ndpage.asp?dtn=07325-1917&ArtMU=EUR
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_hoc_signo_vinces
The significance of "312" might be this from the wikipedia article:
*snip*
The accounts by Lactantius and Eusebius, though not entirely consistent, have been connected to the Battle of the Milvian Bridge (312 AD), having merged into a popular notion of Constantine seeing the Chi-Rho sign on the evening before the battle.
*snip*
What the significance of the date "1675" is, I don't know, but obviously the date "1915" was during WWI.
I was looking around for possible 1675 events, and found this interesting tidbit:
*snip*
The Strasbourg Agreement of 27 August 1675 is the first international agreement banning the use of chemical weapons. The treaty was signed between France and the Holy Roman Empire, and was created in response to the use of poisoned bullets.
*snip*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strasbourg_Agreement_(1675)
Why that would appear on the cross, I don't know, but it's worth noting that chemical weapons were used in WWI:
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-gas-became-a-terror-weapon-in-the-first-world-war
Wow! thank you lots of information there. I read something about French soldiers in German prison of war camps. Wonder if this may have been given to them. Maybe when they returned. I will keep researching but finding it difficult.
Villaret, You're welcome. :-)
Yes, this mystery is not solved.
I just threw that stuff out there about chemical weapons; the 1675 and 1915 dates could be nothing more than interesting coincidences.
Here is a rather poignant French WWI prisoner medal:
https://wwiigimilitarysurplus.com/shop.php?p=d|hhh|FM195||
BTW, I don't know if your cross has any hallmarks, but the gold one I linked does, and it's an owl, which is a bit ambiguous:
*snip*
HALLMARKS : French hallmark - owl - Although it carries a typical French control mark representing an owl, we cannot be sure it is actually French as the owl was also used for items in finished condition that were brought to be examined by the French Assay office (the eagle’s head was used for items brought in unfinished).
*snip*
Here is more about a French owl hallmark:
*snip*
This French owl hallmark has been used since 1893. This owl in an oval frame shape hallmark represents a gold item that is imported from a country whose standards do not comply to French Customs fineness standards. Note the number on the owl's chest and read about it below.
(For more information on this hallmark, consult page 109 of World Hallmarks - Vol. I - Europe)
In a country that has numerous Assay Offices, it is common to use a secondary mark within the actual hallmark to indicate which Assay Office conducted assay testing and hallmarking of that item. In France, there are numerous testing laboratories across the French Departments (states.) Each office has its own unique symbol that they mark within the hallmark's frame or on the core image. The World Hallmark books utilizes a question mark (?) to indicate the location of this variable, if one so exists. In the illustration on the left the symbol is located on the owl's chest. In the photo above that graphic, the symbol is the number 75 which is a nationally recognized region number for Paris, hence representing the Assay Office located in the Paris Area.
*snip*
https://www.hallmarkresearch.com/html/archives.html
Of course, all of this applies to the cross that that's very similar to yours, except that it's made of 18K yellow gold.
Also, both crosses are Latinate, not literally Constantine crosses:
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/set-crosses-143510806
So, I dunno. };-)
In thinking about this some more, is it just another coincidence that a near twin of your cross was found on a Belgian website?
Thank you again. The cross I have is silver. Two hallmarks on the top ring. One I think a makers mark. The other possibly the crab for French silver. Difficult to see.
I believe the maker is Augis. What I am trying to find out is why they were made and who for? The search continues.
Have just found an Augis advertisement with these crosses. The plot thickens.
Villaret, Woo hoo!
I'd say you're about three quarters of the way there now, with the discovery of that ad.
I gather that a portion of the proceeds from sales benefitted French prisoners in Germany.
Here's another ad:
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-24d6-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
Yeah, I see a lot of those crosses out there now that I use "A. Augis Croix Constantin" as my search criteria. };-)
About A. Augis:
*snip*
The business was established in Lyon by Eugène Coquais in 1830. He offered each of his thirteen children a jewelry store. In 1870, Coquais’s son-in-law, Charles, succeeded him. Charles’ son, Alphonse Augis, took over the business in 1896 and changed the name of the company to A. Augis. In 1907, he created the Love Medal, influenced by L’éternelle chanson of the French poet and playwright, Rosemonde Gérard. It would become one of the most famous pieces of jewelry in France. In 1928, Franch Augis took over the company. In 1960, Augis had the largest advertising budget in the French jewelry sector. In 1970, the company was transferred to Guy Augis. Guy Augis sought to modernize the company and stylized the “A” to make a range of jewelry. The first of the line was sent to Anne-Aymone Giscard d'Estaing, the wife of the French President Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing. In 1996, Guy Augis renovated his shops and used the lion of Lyon and the founding date 1830 to create an icon for the company. In 2012, Augis became part of Arthus-Bertrand and A.Augis became a trademark of the Arthus-Bertrand company.
*snip*
https://www.medalbook.com/makers/augis
One of the listings mentions the Basilique du Sacre Coeur de Montmartre, but that was founded in 1875, not 1675:
https://www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com/english/history-and-visit/
Perhaps Arthus Bertrand could shed some light on that inscription:
https://fr.arthusbertrand.com/
You know, it might not be the Basilique du Sacre Coeur de Montmarte, but the Sacre Coeur concept itself:
*snip*
Marguerite-Marie Alacoque has her fourth (and last) vision of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, at Paray-le-Mondial, France : this will lead to the Catholic cult of the Sacre Coeur Date: 16 June 1675
*snip*
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-marguerite-marie-alacoque-has-her-fourth-and-last-vision-of-the-sacred-105293684.html
There is after all Sacre Coeur imagery on the A. Augis Croix Constantin.
Villaret, I really do think that the 1675 date on the A. Augis cross is a reference to Sacre Coeur.
The thing that initially tipped me was the reference to the Basilique du Sacre Coeur de Montmartre in an eBay listing for one of the A. Augis crosses. I couldn't understand it, because that cornerstone for that church was only laid in 1875. However:
*snip*
On 16 June 1875, the Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Guibert lay the first stone of the basilica, honoring after two hundred years the fourth request reported by Marguerite Marie Alacoque from June 16, 1675.
*snip*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Heart#cite_note-52
It's probably blindingly obvious to devotees of Sacre Coeur.
So what we have:
A Cross of Constantine with Sacred Heart imagery, and three dates: 312, 1675, and 1915.
Constantine reportedly had a vision in 312.
Marguerite-Marie Alacoque had her final vision in 1675.
A. Augis made their Croix de Constantin in 1915.
Part of the sales proceeds for the cross were set aside to benefit French prisoners in Germany during World War I which was in full swing in 1915.
The inspiration:
*snip*
The Emperor Constantine the Great, on the way to wage war against his brother-in-law Maxentius in 312 AD, is said to have had a vision of a cross in the sky stating "in hoc signo vinces" (by this sign you will conquer) at the location where La Croix-Valmer is now situated. On April 16, 1893, a stone cross was erected on the site where tradition holds this vision occurred.
*snip*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Croix-Valmer
The Cross of Constantine as seen from Boulevard Tabarin in Google Streetview September 2019:
https://goo.gl/maps/KVbbTCbJynW2by8i7
The cross of Constantine in Croix-Valmer seems to have new-ish plaques installed as a result of a centennial commemoration in 1993:
EN CE 21 MAI 1993 COMMEMORATION DU CENTENAIRE DE CETTE CROIX LA BENEDICTIO A EU LIEU EN PRESENCE DE MONSEIGNEUR N. FORNO VICAIRE GENERAL M. LA CURE DE LA PAROISSE
ON THIS MAY 21, 1993, COMMEMORATION OF THE CENTENARY OF THIS CROSS, THE BLESSING TOOK PLACE IN THE PRESENCE OF MONSEIGNEUR N. FORNO VICAR GENERAL M. THE PARISH CURE
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Croix_de_Constantin_c%C3%B4t%C3%A9_nord-est_(La_Croix-Valmer)-3226.jpg
It looks as though it already had at least one plaque back in 1915:
https://www.lacroixvalmertourisme.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/25.png
I'd like to read the text on the one that was on it in 1915. :-(
As to the A. Augis cross of Constantine, I found a document dated January 1917 that contains six ads for it:
https://docplayer.fr/83077633-Armorial-du-vivarais-emile-salomon.html
The options seem to have changed somewhat. The cross is available in only three varieties: gold, silver, and bronze.
The language about the prisoners seems to have changed a bit as well:
Un partie du profit est affectée aux oeuvres des Français prisonniers.
Part of the profit is allocated to the works of the French prisoners.
It's still a bit confusing as to why a portion of the sales proceeds is specifically allocated to the "works" of the prisoners.
Perhaps there is something here:
*snip*
Starting in 1915, the German authorities put in place a system of camps, nearly three hundred in all, and did not hesitate to resort to denutrition, punishments and psychological mobbing; incarceration was also combined with methodical exploitation of the prisoners.ch prisoners.
While prisoners' labour was voluntary at the beginning, it very quickly became mandatory, organised into kommandos. The Ministry of War even set daily work quotas.[67] Work in mines and swamps was dreaded as particularly painful; most of the time, agricultural work allowed for slightly better detention conditions.
*snip*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I_prisoners_of_war_in_Germany
*snip*
In contrast, there were between 446,300 and 600,000 French combatant prisoners captured by Germany during the First World War.[3] The average French prisoner spent 2.6 years in German captivity.[4] From the very start of the war Germany held more French prisoners than France held German – the fall of Maubeuge fortress saw over 30,000 French troops captured in September 1914. This disparity in prisoner numbers gave Germany a significant advantage over France diplomatically during the conflict since it created greater leverage on issues of prisoner treatment.
*snip*
https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/prisoners_of_war_belgium_and_france
Thank you so much for your hard work. Still got to read some of the links but seems like they were made to support the French prisoners. All very interesting. Many thanks
Villaret, You're quite welcome. :-)
It wasn't until you found that A. Augis ad that I finally started having some real success in my searches.
The "work" of the prisoners remains a mystery, as does the inscription on the original 1893 plaque on the Cross of Constantine.
Perhaps you'll visit it some day, take pictures, and create a follow up post.