Orden und Militaria bis 1918

| 131 A cuirassier life standard with pole, pole top and tassels from the reign of Emperor Leopold I of Austria, 1658 – 1705 Allegedly captured in the War of the Spanish Succession during the battles at Schardenberg and Eisenbirn on 11 March 1703 by electoral Bavarian troops from the Austrian Cuirassier Regiment “Jung-Han- nover”. Standard cloth of white silk damast with flower pattern, only one side preserved at approx. 40%, mounted on salmon-coloured silk cloth in the 1960s for restoration purposes. Cypher “L” in raised silver and gold embroidery (darkened by age) underneath the imperial crown, and motto “Pro Deo et Caesare” between divided date “(1)6 - 77” above the crown. Two of the four corner palmettes crafted en suite (upper left and lower right) equally preserved. Dimensions of salmon-coloured silk cloth approx. 52 x 50 cm, original dimensions of the standard cloth approx. 50 x 48 cm. Under protective silk gauze. The pole top of iron, the finial with openwork double-headed eagle, tapered socket. Overall height 23 cm. The pole of spruce wood with largely preserved grey paint, the shape similar to that of a knightly jousting lance with small handle in the lower quarter, eight grooves, on the side iron cavalry staple with eyelets and for iron side straps. The nails of the side straps and the socket with heads punched with flower ornaments, the screws of the cavalry staple with domed heads. Overall length with standard top 252.5 cm. A cord terminating in two tassels, whose original colours were probably black and yellow, is wrapped around the socket of the pole top, the fring- es of one tassel are only preserved in parts. Of utmost rarity. C f . Peter Jaeckel, Kaiserliche Standarten in Ingolstadt, published in Militaria Austriaca, vol. 4 by the Austrian Society for Army Science, 1983. In addition to the standard at hand, this publication describes four further standards on display in the Ingolstadt ArmyMuseum, i. e. a further life standard with white cloth and three ordinary standards with red cloth. All five standards have in common that only one side of the standard cloth is preserved. Jaeckel assumes that the sides displaying the double-headed eagle or the Madonna from 1705 onwards were used by Bavaria, at that time occupied by Austria and financially weakened by the war, for newly manufactured standards for financial reasons, whereas the sides showing the cypher of Emperor Leopold I became unusable after his death in 1705. P rovenance : As the four standards displayed in the Bavarian Army Museum in Ingolstadt, this life standard probably stems from the battles at Schardenberg and Eisenbirn on 11 March 1703, when troops of the Bavarian Elector Maximilian Emanuel attacked and defeated the corps of the Austrian Lieutenant Field Marshal Leopold Schlick. The only cuirassier regiment on the Austrian side was the regiment of the “Gar- nier-Cürassiere” established in 1663, which was renamed Cuirassier Regiment “Jung-Hannover” from 1697 onwards. 283642 II - III € 3.800