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Miniature white enamel and gilt Maltese cross with gilt fleurs de lys between the arms, on swivel crown suspension; the face with the transverse and lower arms enamelled, the upper arm gilt with crossed arcs descending from the points, the ground laterally hatched; the reverse with the transverse and lower arms enamelled, the upper arm gilt, the panel hatched; diameter 11.23mm (0.44 inch); small cracks to the lower point of the right-hand arm of the face, the right-hand tip of the lower arm of the face and the left-hand arm of the lower point of the reverse, on possibly replaced correct ribbon. The Order, often popularly referred to as the ‘Knights of Malta’, was in existence certainly as long ago as the early years of the 12th Century and is still extant today. Originally based in Jerusalem, the Order moved to Tripoli following the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin in 1187 and to Rhodes by way of Cyprus after the fall of Acre in 1291. In 1522 Suleiman the Magnificent took Rhodes and the Order scattered. Charles V granted the Order the island of Malta and the Order settled here from 1530 to 1798 when Napoleon Bonaparte captured the island en route for Egypt. In 1834 the order established a new headquarters in Rome and took on its current humanitarian and ceremonial role with Grand Masters being appointed by the Pope.
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