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    King Milan's Medal Bars & Decorations


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    I've had this photo for some time and I was never able to correctly identify all of the medals on medal bar. 
    Do you gentlemen perhaps recognize some of them? 
    I believe photo was made somewhere between 1898 and 1900 during his son's reign. At that time Milan was the supreme commander of the army.
    I'll also post other photos I found online over the years.
    100.thumb.JPG.b5f5df20fcfb65fd44836fa162105.thumb.JPG.805e97f2e98b43366bd442f015

    White Eagle, Takovo with Swords and St. Sava 1st class.

    Medal bar:
    1) 40 Years of St. Andrew's Day Assembly Medal
    2) Restoration of the Kingdom Medal
    3) Wars for Liberation and Independence Commemorative Medal
    4) 60 Years of King's Guard Medal
    5) Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885-86 Commemorative Medal
    6) Serbian Red Cross Order
    7) Romanian Military Virtue
     Cross
    8) ??? perhaps Romanian Defenders of Independence Medal
    9) ??? Franz Joseph 50 Years of Reign Medal (or something else with Franz on front side)
    10) ??? Turkish?
    11) ??? Turkish?

    Edited by paja
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    Thanks Paul! So just #8 is still problematic.
    Here's one more very interesting photo with different medal bar. I'm guessing it should be from somewhere between 1883 and 1886.
    201.thumb.jpg.5f8d210875c6e34cc2fe45add5
    202.thumb.jpg.1085a02a71518b9521babcc2e0

    White Eagle, Takovo with Swords and St. Sava 1st class.

    Medal bar:
    1) Restoration of the Kingdom Medal
    2) White Eagle
    3) Takovo V with Swords
    4) St. Sava
    5) Russian Order of St. George 
    6) Bulgarian Order of Bravery (III grade 2nd class, he's one of 9 cavaliers of the Order of Bravery I grade)
    7) Order of the Star of Romania with Swords
    8) Wars for Liberation and Independence Commemorative Medal
    9) Romanian Military Virtue Cross
    10) ???

    Edited by paja
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    • 5 weeks later...

    00.thumb.jpg.b84ca4f986148c8c7fbad672f58

    Again White Eagle, Takovo with Swords and St. Sava 1st class.

    Medal bar:
    1) White Eagle
    2) Takovo V with Swords
    3) Russian Order of St. George
    4) Order of the Star of Romania with Swords
    5) Bulgarian Order of Bravery
    6) Restoration of the Kingdom Medal
    7) Wars for Liberation and Independence Commemorative Medal
    8) 1885-86 War Commemorative Medal
    9) Romanian Military Virtue Cross (probably, only partially visible)
    10) ??? Perhaps the same unknown medal from previous photos.

    Probably made on same occasion as the one above.

    1.thumb.jpg.3f3a9d58ad28763312aa2239f821

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    01.thumb.JPG.1a4d0f43197fd5a71334acfa55f

     

    1) White Eagle
    2) Takovo V with Swords
    3) 40 Years of St. Andrew's Day Assembly Medal
    4) Restoration of the Kingdom Medal
    5) Wars for Liberation and Independence Commemorative Medal
    6) 60 Years of King's Guard Medal
    7) 1885-86 War Commemorative Medal
    8) Serbian Red Cross Order

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    Thanks Paul! So just #8 is still problematic.
    Here's one more very interesting photo with different medal bar. I'm guessing it should be from somewhere between 1883 and 1886.
    201.thumb.jpg.5f8d210875c6e34cc2fe45add5
    202.thumb.jpg.1085a02a71518b9521babcc2e0

    White Eagle, Takovo with Swords and St. Sava 1st class.

    Medal bar:
    1) Restoration of the Kingdom Medal
    2) White Eagle
    3) Takovo V with Swords
    4) St. Sava
    5) Russian Order of St. George 
    6) Bulgarian Order of Bravery (III grade 2nd class, he's one of 9 cavaliers of the Order of Bravery I grade)
    7) Order of the Star of Romania with Swords
    8) Wars for Liberation and Independence Commemorative Medal
    9) Romanian Military Virtue Cross
    10) ???

    I have now identified 10 it is the Romanian Defenders of Independence Medal 1877-78

    Paul

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    Now the hard work.


    1000.thumb.JPG.a727712e4f384fb9c42f5168d

     

    His right side obviously:
    1) Montenegrin Order of Danilo
    2) French Legion of Honor 
    3) Italian Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
    4) Romanian Star

    Around the neck: Russian Order of St. George 

    His left side:
    1) Austro-Hungarian Order of St. Stephen (his son was also one of the recipients but neither one of them is listed on wiki)
    2) Order of Takovo
    3) ??? Order of the Red Eagle
    4) ??? Danish Order of the Elephant (found his name among recipients on wiki: 
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Knights_of_the_Order_of_the_Elephant#.C2.A0Serbia
    5) Romanian Crown
    6) ???

    7) Wars for Liberation and Independence Commemorative Medal
    8) Romanian Medal of Military Virtue (not very well depicted but I'm pretty sure it must be it)

    Edited by paja
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    Amazing, as always many thanks Paul!
    About that #5 I wasn't sure it wasn't Leopold but for some reason thought it's more likely Romanian Crown.
    #4 was a wild guess, perhaps then #6 could be Danish Elephant.

    Edited by paja
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    • 6 months later...

    Complete list of King Milan's decorations can be found in Dragomir Acović's book "Slava i čast, odlikovanja među Srbima - Srbi među odlikovanjima" (in English "Glory and honor, decorations among Serbs - Serbs among Decorations").
    http://www.slglasnik.com/библиотека-саборник/слава-и-част

    1.jpg.8849737dbdb37d34d8129abe7aceca2e.j

     

    First edition, 2013
    24 x 28 cm
    720 pages
    Hardcover
    Cyrillic alphabet
    ISBN 978-86-519-1750-2
    Price is 5500 RSD or somewhere around 45 EUR

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    "Slava i čast" is a huge source of very valuable information which can't be found anywhere else.
    It deals with Phaleristics in general, Serbian decorations until the present day including awards of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Apart from that it also covers Principality and Kingdom of Montenegro and the former Yugoslav republics. Complete lists of decorations of king Nikola I, king Milan, Aleksandar Karađorđević, Tito and patriarch German are also published. On top of that decorations of many other famous Serbs and foreign recipients of Serbian orders. Rules and regulations, solutions that weren't adopted and huge amount of photos and illustrations...
    I strongly recommend it, it's definitely worth having.

    Edited by paja
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    I'm pleased to say that the author gave me permission to publish the list of king Milan's decorations from his book.
    All the credit for compiling the list goes to Mr. Acović to whom I am grateful. 

     

    -AUSTRIA-HUNGARY-
    -Order of Franz Joseph, Grand Cross (1869)
    -Order of Leopold, Grand Cross 
    -Order of St. Stephen, Grand Cross (1880)

    -BAVARIA-
    -Order of St. Hubert (1884)

    -BELGIUM-
    -Order of Leopold, Grand Cordon (1881)

    -BRAUNSCHWEIG-
    -Order of Henry the Lion

    -BULGARIA-
    -Order of Bravery, I grade (1882)
    -Order of Saint Alexander, Grand Cross (1882)

    -DENMARK-
    -Order of the Elephant (1882)

    -FRANCE-
    -Legion of Honour, Grand Cross (1873) 
    His son's Legion of Honor was stolen by the Germans during occupation. Today it is kept in National Museum in Prague thanks to Václav Měřička.

    -GREECE-
    -Order of the Redeemer, Grand Cross (1880)

    -HAWAII-
    -Order of Kalākaua, Grand Cross (1882)
    Hawaiian king awarded Milan when they met in Vienna. On that occasionKing Kalākaua received the Order of the Cross of Takovo.

    -HESSE-
    -Ludwig Order, Grand Cross (1882)

    -ITALY-
    -Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, Grand Cross

    -ORTHODOX PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM-
    -Order of the Holy Sepulchre 
    According to king's wishes he was buried with this order in Krušedol monastery.

    -MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN-
    -Order of the Wendish Crown, Grand Cross (1882)

    -MONACO-
    -Order of Saint-Charles, Grand Cross (1883)

    -MONTENEGRO-
    -Order of Danilo I, Grand Cross (1869)

    -NETHERLANDS-
    -Order of the Netherlands Lion, Grand Cross (1882)

    -OLDENBURG-
    -House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis (1882)

    -PERSIA-
    -Order of the Lion and the Sun (1878)

    -PORTUGAL-
    -Combined Order of Christ and St. Benedict of Aviz (1882)

    -ROMANIA-
    -Order of the Star of Romania, Grand Cross (1878)
    -Military Virtue Medal
    -Defenders of Independence Medal 1877-78
    -Crossing of the Danube Cross 1877

    -RUSSIA-
    -Order of St. George 3rd class (1878)
    -Order of St. Andrew (1881)
    Which means he automatically received:
    -Order St. Alexander Nevsky
    -Order of the White Eagle
    -Order of St. Anna
    1st class and
    -Order of St. Stanislaus 1st class

    -SAXE-MEININGEN-
    -Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Grand Cross (1882)

    -SAXE-WEIMAR-EISENACH-
    -Order of the White Falcon, Grand Cross (1882)

    -SAXONY-
    -Order of the Rue Crown (1882)

    -SPAIN-
    -Order of Charles III, Grand Cross (1882)

    -TURKEY-
    -Order of Osmanieh with Brilliants (1874)

    -SWEDEN-NORWAY-
    -Order of the Seraphim (1882)

    -WÜRTTEMBERG-
    -Order of the Crown, Grand Cross for Sovereigns (1882)

    Edited by paja
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    • 4 months later...

    I stumbled upon this remarkable photo on ebay.
    s-l1600.jpg
     

    His right side:
    1) Montenegrin Order of Danilo
    2) French Legion of Honor 
    3) Italian Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
    4) Romanian Star

    Around the neck: Russian Order of St. George 

    His left side:
    1) Austro-Hungarian Order of St. Stephen
    2) Order of Takovo
    3) Russian Order of St. Andrew?
    4) Ottoman Order of Osmanieh 
    5) Austro-Hungarian Order of Leopold
    6) ???

    Medals:
    7) Wars for Liberation and Independence Commemorative Medal
    8) Romanian Medal of Military Virtue
    9) Romanian Defenders of Independence Medal 1877-78

    Photo was made in Novi Sad, part of Austria-Hungary back then. Based on that I think he's most likely wearing sash of the Order of St. Stephen. My guess is that the photo was made in the early 1880s.

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    3 hours ago, paja said:

    I stumbled upon this remarkable photo on ebay.

    This is a great photo, Paja. It has so many similarities - including but not restricted to the folds on the sash - with the left hand portrait you posted in post #10, I can't help but think that it was the official photographic portrait on which the painting was based.

    It follows that, if you know the date of the painting, you have the latest date of the photograph.

    2016-07-30_21-24-54.jpg

    Edited by Trooper_D
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    I think that you are right! The painting is work of Stevan Todorović and it was made in 1881.
    My guess about the date was based on his decorations.
    A year or two ago I read some newspaper article about a book in which the author claims that Milan was father of Winston Churchill. Apparently Milan was lover of Churchill's mother and aunt. How much of this is true I don't know, just thought it might be interesting to mention.

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