A National Order of Merit of Paraguay; Grand Cross Set

Grand Cross: bronze gilt with blue, white and green enamels, 60.7 mm x 91.5 mm inclusive of its wreath suspension; and Breast Star: bronze gilt, 92.5 mm x 95.7 mm, hook and horizontal pinback. Intact enamels on the Grand Cross, light contact, near extremely fine. Footnote: The National Order of Merit was established by Marshal Francisco Solano López (July 24, 1827 - March 1, 1870) who succeed his father as president of Paraguay in 1862 and held the office until his death in combat in 1870. He is remembered above all for bringing upon Paraguay the catastrophic war against the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay but his reputation has recovered in recent years, driven by nationalist sentiment. Originally the Order was for military only but it was revised in 1939 and is now Paraguay’s highest order for military and civil merit.