The Order from the treasury of Dominik Radziwiłł, which probably earlier belonged to Karol Radziwiłł, son of Katarzyna née Sobieska, sister to King Jan III Sobieski, was first described by Franciszek Pułaski in 1903. The first iconographic representation of the jewel can be found on the painting housed in the Museum of History of the Capital City of Warsaw believed to have been executed by Jerzy Eleuter Siemiginowski. The inscription in the upper right-hand corner reads: ... Orderów ... i Janiny Kawaler [... Orders... and Janina Knight].
The name ‘Janina’ comes from the image on the obverse, which consists of a gold Maltese cross with small orbs attached to the tips. On the cross is the Sobieski coat of arms in blue enamel surmounted with the standing figure of St. Michael the Archangel. On the left-hand side of the shield are two gold lion’s heads with rings in their mouths; the enamel on the right-hand side is damaged. Between the arms of the cross alternate the then coats of arms of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth—the Eagle (with a white band across the breast) and the Pogoń (Knight).
The reverse shows an oval medallion with an image of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception in a radiant mandorla and a star circle halo. A black inscription runs around the edge of the medallion: Ingentibus ausis quo vis monstrat iter (Indicating the way to achieve daring goals).
According to legend, the Janina coat of arms of the Sobieski family dates back to the Middle Ages and has a rich iconography. The use of the patron saint of knights—St. Michael the Archangel—may also suggest the connection of the badge to the King’s military victories or an attempt to establish an order of knighthood.
Other affiliations identify this cross, of which there is only one specimen, as the badge of the renewed Order of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary or another order bestowed upon the Radziwiłł family.