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Cross of the commanders of Malta

The fine rouge clair which is the background of the white enamel cross is of fine dragon’s blood drops soaked with eau de vie or Indian laque plate, which I believe is made in Flanders, distempered with clear turpentine and mastic drops and applied on a silver leaf, not the one used by painters but a thicker one, which is burnished by the makers of foil backings for gemstones or by goldsmiths, and that gives it its fine brilliance.