GREAT BRITAIN, THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER |

a magnificent, large and unusual Lesser George sash badge, Cambridge No. 10, circa 1835, unsigned, in gold, sardonyx and enamels, constructed as two plates joined by a plain gold edge band to which is fitted the scroll-mount for suspension and which is engraved ‘No. 10’ in the style of other Cambridge pieces; one face with a finely-carved central sardonyx cameo of St George on horseback slaying the dragon in very high relief and of outstanding craftsmanship, the Garter motto HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE, around bordered by 10 gold lover’s knots and 10 red-enamelled roses within blue Garters to represent the collar of the Order; the other face with a central finely-detailed gold model of St George and the dragon superimposed on translucent red enamel over an intricately-patterned guilloché base, the blue-enamelled Garter around with motto HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE in applied capital letters in Gothic script, weight 73.1g all in, a couple of scratches to the gold at lower edge and with some traces of old lacquer, in excellent condition overall

Attributed to Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge. A smaller badge of similar style and evidently by the same maker was owned by Adolphus’s elder brother, Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773-1843), and is now in a private collection. The 1904 sale of Decorations of the Dukes of Cambridge included no fewer than seven Lesser Georges attributed to Adolphus, 1st Duke (lots 783-789), most of which carried discreet Cambridge-style numbers (although only lot 787, ‘No. 8’, was in fact listed as being numbered in the 1904 catalogue). For the avoidance of doubt the present badge was not included in the 1904 auction catalogue.