Order of Saint Esprit
Anthony Turner identifies the crest as belonging to a member of the French royal order of Saint Esprit (see References).
From http://saint-esprit.homepage.com/
On December 31, 1578, Henri III created the Ordre du Saint-Esprit (Order of the Holy Ghost), in memory of his accession to the throne of Poland (1573) and France (1574) both on Whitsunday. The order had strict nobiliary requirements and a membership limited at 100. Four cardinals and four other prelates were members and were called commandeurs, the other members were called chevaliers. The order also had a number of officers (treasurer,chaplain, etc).
Note that Danfrie had extended contact with the order: he made bookbinding tools for them over a number of years, presumably to be used for the decorative tooling of their books (statutes, members, etc) - see Turner, p. 27.
Other narratives:
- Inventory no. 44194 - Epact entry
- Inventory no. 44194 - Former Display Label
- Renaissance France: Philippe Danfrie