International. An Order Of Melusine, Officer

Instituted in 1881. In silver gilt with navy blue, white and red enamels, the base formed by a Jerusalem cross, obverse illustrating the coat-of-arms of the Lusignan kings of Cyprus in the center that is surmounted by a crown, enamels not intact at the bottom (damaged), original ribbon, extremely fine.

Footnote: 

1. The Order of Melusine was created in 1881 by 'Marie de Lusignan', wife of 'Guy de Lusignan', self-styled Prince of Jerusalem, of Cyprus and of Armenia. When he died in 1905, her lover took over as 'Grand Master', having awarded himself the title 'Comte d'Alby de Gratigny'. The Order seems to have become defunct about 1910. The founder of the order and her husband were, however, well known for creating orders for financial gain and social prestige and he seems to have started life named 'Kafta' and to have become a Maronite priest before taking on a royal title.

2. The House of Lusignan was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the twelfth through the fifteenth centuries during the Middle Ages. It also had great influence in England and France. The family originated in Lusignan, in Poitou, western France, in the early tenth century. By the end of the eleventh century, the family had risen to become the most prominent petty lords in the region from their castle at Lusignan. In the late twelfth century, through marriages and inheritance, a cadet branch of the family came to control the kingdoms of Jerusalem and Cyprus. In the early thirteenth century, the main branch succeeded to the Counties of La Marche and Angoulême. As Crusader kings in the Latin East, they soon had connections with the Hethumid rulers of the Kingdom of Cilicia, which they inherited through marriage in the mid-fourteenth century. The Armenian branch fled to France, and eventually Russia after the Mamluk conquest of their kingdom. The claim was taken by the Cypriot branch, until their line failed. This kingdom was annexed by the Republic of Venice in the late fifteenth century.