Here we find heraldic pictures including proofs of nobility which were necessary for joining the Order of St John. Normally 4 generations of noble blood were required before you could be admitted to the order. There are two showcases displaying chessmen. The majority of the pieces are ivory. Ask your guide to point out the Maltese sets. If you look carefully you can observe that the king is Christian and the queen has no crown. This perhaps illustrates the fact that the Grand Master of Malta was celibate, and therefore there was no “queen” in Malta. The Chinese set includes George III of England and Hanover as the white king, while the Emperor of China is red.

 

In this room is one of the principal treasures of the house. It is a gilded sedan chair made for Frà Victor Nicolas de Vachon Belmont a French Knight of Malta. He became Captain General of the Galleys from October 13th 1764 to January 9th 1766. You can see his coat of arms on the front door of the vehicle. This chair, with its ornate painting and overall gold colour, coats of arms, banners and plush interior was probably designed to show off the fact that it was presented by Grand Master Pinto (1741-1773) to one of Malta’s most senior knights.

 

In those days both freemen from the local population as well as Turkish or African slaves would have carried sedan chairs. It was apparently a popular job as there was a lot of waiting involved and the journeys were short. One advantage of this form of transport was that one could also be carried from one’s drawingroom into another palace drawingroom (up and down the stairs too) without the inconvenience of actually stepping outside. The owner of this chair did not leave Malta with the banished knights in 1798, he decided to stay on in spite of Napoleon’s orders. The British admired this Frenchman and, having found him penniless – he had sold his furniture to continue the charity work to which he was dedicated – he was awarded a small pension. De Vachon lived on until 1807 and was buried ‘with pomp’ at St John’s. His tombstone is in the Chapel of France.

 

 

 

If you wish to see more have a look at our 360° virtual tour:

 

 

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