922F Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 (edited) Spink’s shorthand description may have misled...after all, their original description mispelled the supplier/manufacturer's name! JOMSA Vol 68, number 5, pp 43-44 describes Nishan el-Noor [Order of Light] insignia & cases. The case outer lid [illustrated there] bears the Royal Egyptian coat-of-arms above the supplier/manufacturer information. Some cases have this same material centered on the inside of the lid. Worth, the insignia supplier, informed me that Mohammed Ali cases have similar markings. Usually Worth provided stars and badges have Worth's trademark on the reverse center disk. Sometimes Worth items have a silver content stamp--I do not know whether their Royal Egyptian pieces bear such identifiers. ELM and Royal Insignia both often, but not always, use their proprietary hallmarks and a silver fineness indicia stamp. Edited February 22, 2019 by 922F spelchek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 (edited) 922F, Many thanks for this additional information about hallmarks for monarchy in exile Orders. I can find a website for Royal Insignia out of Singapore and Brunei, but are you able to provide some information where I can learn something about Worth? Do you have any images of the hallmarks for any of these manufacturers? I have a couple variants of hallmarks to add here. Below are a few images of hallmarks on a cased set of the Grand Cordon Class of the Order of Ismail from an April 2018 auction by La Galerie Numismatique archived on the live auctioneer.com website (https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/60483636_order-of-ismail). This is a set made by Lattes. The sash badge is identified as measuring 62 mm wide x 82 mm high (the height must include the entire suspension loop) and the breast star measures 82 mm in diameter. This example has a couple of interesting aspects to its hallmarks. The hallmarks on the reverse of the suspension loop of the sash badge include only 2 of the 3 potential hallmarks. Although difficult to see in the lower-resolution of the images of the reverse the sash badge, the date mark ("B"=) can be seen but the other hallmark is likely to be the fineness mark of 18 carats. The hallmarks I illustrated previously include all 3 hallmarks on the reverse of the suspension loop of the two examples of the 3rd Class Commander's neck badge made by Lattes (last photo in my post here of 13 December, 2018; the 10th photo from the first showing hallmarks on examples of the Order of Ismail in my post of 11 January, 2019 which also includes what is the 14 carat European assay mark of "585"). On 11 January I also illustrated the reverse of the the suspension loop on the neck badge of a 2nd Class Grand Officer example belonging to Dr. Quirico (6th photo in the group of hallmarks on Order of Ismail insignia) made by Lattes that has only 2 hallmarks: the 18 carat fineness mark and the "Z" date mark for 1924-25. My 11 January post also shows another example of a Grand Cordon Class of the Order of Ismail made by Tewfik Bichay that is marked with only 2 hallmarks on the reverse of the suspension loop (the Cairo assay mark of 18 carats and the date hallmark), and that example also has only the same 2 hallmarks (both lacking the ibis denoting Egyptian gold manufacture) on the reverse of the central boss of the sash badge below Bichay's hallmark. The other interesting aspect of the Grand Cordon set from the April 2018 La Galerie Numismatique auction is that the date hallmarks on the sash badge and breast star are slightly different. The sash badge is marked "B"=1927-28 and the breast star is marked "C"=1928-29. Although overlapping, it is unclear why a probably matched set might have languished in the Cairo assay office so that each component of this set received different date hallmarks. I have included some additional images of this set as the auction listing has a pretty good photo documentation (moderately good resolution, they can be zoomed) of the sash badge and breast star. The Grand Cordon Order of Ismail cased set in the case marked J. Lattes from the April 2018 auction by La Galerie Numismatique and archived on the liveauctionees.com website (https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/60483636_order-of-ismail#&gid=1&pid=1). The same Grand Cordon set displayed on the sash (https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/60483636_order-of-ismail#&gid=1&pid=3). The sash badge of the same Grand Cordon set (https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/60483636_order-of-ismail#&gid=1&pid=4). Note the placement of the hallmarks on the right side of the attachments of the superior star ray to the royal crown, consistent with those seen on the examples I illustrated on 11 January. Reverse of the same sash badge (https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/60483636_order-of-ismail#&gid=1&pid=5) Close-up of the reverse of the suspension loop of the same sash badge (cropped from https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/60483636_order-of-ismail#&gid=1&pid=6) showing the presence of only the gold fineness hallmark (18 carat) and the date hallmark ("B"). This photo also shows the single 18 carat fineness mark on the reverse of the crown, as shown on the Lattes' examples of the Commanders' neck badges in my 11 January post and on the the Tewfik Bichay example of the Grand Cordon Class from Fall 2014 auction of Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandelin in that same post. Close-up of the 3 hallmarks on the obverse right connecting link between the sash badge star and the crown suspension device on the same Grand Cordon sash badge (https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/60483636_order-of-ismail#&gid=1&pid=6). They show the worn condition of the Cairo assay mark for 18 carat gold, a worn ibis, and the date hallmark "B" for 1927-1928. The placement is identical to those shown in my 11 January post. Reverse of the central boss of the same sash badge showing the Latttes hallmark and the worn gold hallmarks: the Cairo assay mark of 18 carat gold, the ibis for Egyptian gold, and the date hallmark of "B" (https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/60483636_order-of-ismail#&gid=1&pid=7). Obverse of the breast star of this same set of the Grand Cordon Order of Ismail from the April 2018 auction by La Galerie Numismatique that is archived on the liveauctionees.com website (https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/60483636_order-of-ismail#&gid=1&pid=8). Reverse of one of the rays of the gold star of the breast star of the same Grand Cordon Order of Ismail showing the 3 hallmarks: the Cairo assay office mark for 18 carat gold, the ibis for Egyptian gold, and the date hallmark of "C"= 1928-1929. (https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/60483636_order-of-ismail#&gid=1&pid=9). As noted above, although the date hallmark overlaps with the "B" of the sash badge, it is interesting to see that (as long as these are part of the same Grand Cordon set) the hallmarking of this set occurred across the period that the date hallmark was being changed. I do not know which ray of the gold star is hallmarked on this example, as no image of a complete reverse view of this breast badge is provided in the auction listing. For the same reason, I cannot determine the location of the silver hallmarks on the rayed and facetted silver embellishment of this piece compared with examples I illustrated on 11 January. Below is a high resolution image of the crown suspension device on a 3rd Class Commander's neck badge from an April 2017 auction by Bukowskis (https://www.bukowskis.com/en/lots/906427-the-order-of-ismail-nischan-al-ismail-22k-gold-lattes-in-kairo-1928-1928-weight-ca-47-g). In this photo only the Cairo assay office hallmark for 18 carat gold and the ibis mark for Egyptian gold are visible on the right connecting link between the superior star ray and the crown suspension device. I've included this image mainly because the lighting in this particular photo provides excellent detail on the royal crown suspension device, despite either some damage or manufacturing flaws seen in the lower right "interior" of the crown, in addition to normal wear. High resolution close-up image of the "royal crown" design of the suspension device from an April 2017 Bukowskis auction of a 3rd Class Commander's neck badge of the Order of Ismail made by Lattes. The auction description gives the dimensions of the badge as 8.5 cm high (including the suspension loop) x 6 cm wide, and a weight of 47 g, consistent with other data on measurements and roughly similar to other given weights. It incorrectly identifies this piece as 22 carat gold, and mistakenly gives a date for the "D" hallmark visible on a picture of the reverse of the neck badge as 1928 ("1928-1928", so likely just a clerical error). The "D" data hallmarks indicates a date of 1929-1930. From my research on the Egyptian Mixed Courts judicial badges, my understanding is that the "princely crown" was used in royal Egyptian iconography, principally on royal shields and coats of arms, from 1854 until ~1922, and the "royal crown" form was used form 1923-1952. Obviously, these date distinctions are not strictly adhered to on the designs of several Egyptian Orders and medals Left=a form of the "princely crown", used from 1854-~1922; Right=design of the "royal crown" used from 1923-1952 (http://www.hubert-herald.nl/EgyptKingdom.htm). The royal crown form appears to be the basis for the design of the crown suspension device on the Order of Ismail. I noted on my 11 January, 2018 post under the 5th set of illustrations that there are some silver hallmarks showing 2 dots, rather than just 1, to the right of the Arabic "9" on some Egyptian silver indicating 900 silver rather than 90% as the fineness mark (both designations identifying the same silver content). Although I have only seen the "90" mark used as the silver fineness mark on the Order of Ismail, I found an illustration of the 900 silver mark that is illustrated below. Hallmarks on an Egyptian silver scalloped and footed bowl, identified in the auction description as from c.1982 (correctly). The hallmarks are the Cairo assay office 900 silver mark, the lotus for post-1946 Egyptian silver manufacture (? see below), and the Arabic date letter for 1982. From a 2013 auction by Seized Assets Auctioneers, archived on the liveaucitoneers.com website (https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/22604908_vintage-egyptian-silver-scalloped-footed-bowl-ciaro). An additional wrinkle in dating the use of the silver hallmark of the cat or lotus is shown in an illustration below from a commemorative medal struck in October 1949 to mark the termination of the Egyptian Mixed Courts and the unification of the Egyptian court system. The termination date of the Mixed Courts was 14 October, 1949. This King Farouk medal was issued in bronze and in silver. The silver hallmarks I have seen on images of this medal all show the cat mark (tail raised), that several sources indicate was in use only until 1946. An example of the silver King Farouk medal commemorating the end of the Mixed Courts system on 14 October 1949. The obverse of the medal is on the L and the reverse is on the R. From a May 2018 auction by Stephen Album Rare Coins (http://www.icollector.com/EGYPT-Farouk-1936-1952-AR-medal-32-27g-1949-EF_i29825948). Reverse of the same King Farouk I commemorative medal. The design overlapping the Scales of justice and extending to the right side of the medal is based on an Egyptian stamp issued on 14 October, 1949 commemorating this same event (if interested, please see my posts of 3 May, 2018 and 17 October, 2018 on the thread "Egypt Khedivate Judges Badge Question" started on 17 November, 2016 here in the Middle East and Arab States section). The silver hallmarks in the lower left show: (L-R) the Cairo assay office mark for 900 silver (90%), the cat hallmark identifying Egyptian silver, and the date letter that is very difficult to read (see the image of a different medal below with a readable date hallmark). The S.T.B. medallist signature mark on the lower right are for Sadek Tewfik Bichay, brother of Fahmy Tewfik Bichay. A close-up of a different example of the silver King Farouk I medal with better detail of the date hallmark for this medal, indicating a hallmark date of 1948-1949. This comes from a September 2017 auction by Stephen Album Rare Coins, formerly (but no longer) archived on the coinarchives.com website (https://www.coinarchives.com/w/lotviewer.php?LotID=3018794&AucID=3079&Lot=1776&Val=7022a8a05524ba0ccff62c071a37a509&Match=1#match1). Edited February 23, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 (edited) There is a recent published reference that includes ~16 pages on Egyptian hallmarks that may potentially be useful, but I have not yet been able to obtain it through my Uniperversity interlibrary loan system (they say it is too recent & specialized to be available yet): Danubia, V. Niklewicz, Lindy L. Matula, & William B. Whetstone (eds.) 2017. World Hallmarks: Vol II Asia, Middle East, Africa, With Additional Comments on Non-Hallmarking Regions (Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium Hallmarks). Hallmark Research Institute (published in the US, probably in San Francisco-where the Hallmark Research Institute is located, but I have not found the city of publication identified yet) ISBN-13: 978-0979762857 ISBN-10: 0979762855 (see: http://www.hallmarkresearch.com/html/BooksV2.htm) $228 new Azza Fahmy also has another book on Egyptian jewelry. I have not yet seen it and do not know if it has any additional hallmark data or other useful information: Azza Fahmy, 2015. The Traditional Jewelry of Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press, Cairo. ISBN-13: 9789774167201. ~$45-50 new Edited February 23, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
922F Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Rusty--A Worth hallmark & silver fineness mark image follow below. Worth had a website, now unavailable, that imaged an Ismail star and Mohammed Ali set at least. You may be able to access via wayback or similar service. Worth has/had offices or correspondents in Paris, Lisbon, Geneva, and elsewhere. I am not sure whether Eng Leong or Royal Insignia actually made Ismail insignia with their proprietary hallmarks or acted as sub-contractors and used the direct contractor’s marks if any. I am unclear as to which firm actually made the pieces because Royal Insignia 'sprang' from Eng Leong. Eng Leong uses "ELM" and reportedly "ELMI" as their hallmark. Royal Insignia marked some item with their name in quasi script [example below]. Both firms usually include a silver or gold fineness mark on their products. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 (edited) 922F, I am always most grateful for your profound knowledge about these Egyptian Orders I am trying to learn more about, as well as your information about a wide range of issues touching on my research. I'm interested to see they Worth hallmark and the form of their silver fineness hallmarks as well. Thanks for providing this information and the image! I have found a photo of a named example of a 4th Class Order of Ismail Knight's breast badge with some odd variation in the form of the royal crown suspension device compared with all other examples I have seen on the Knight's insignia, and with the form of the same crown suspension on sash badges of the Grand Cordon (1st Class), the neck badge of the Grand Officer (2nd Class), and the Commander's neck badge (3rd Class). This example belongs to a set of 13 medals awarded to Colonel B.H.S. Romilly, of the Scots Guard and the Egyptian Army Camel Corps, from an auction in a December 1991 sale by Buckland Dix & Wood, Auctioneers and Valuers, from the Uphill-Brown Collection (lot 219). He was Winston Churchill's brother-in-law. Among the medals in this lot are a 3rd Class neck badge of the Egyptian Order of the Nile, a 4th Class breast badge of the Ottoman Order of Osmanieh, 2 Sudan Campaign medals, and this 4th Class Order of Ismail. (From: https://archive.org/details/auctionofordersd00buck_1/page/8) Detail of the crown suspension device from the April 2017 Bukowskis auction of a 3rd Class Commander's neck badge for comparison with the Buckland Dix & Wood example below (from: ttps://www.bukowskis.com/en/lots/906427-the-order-of-ismail-nischan-al-ismail-22k-gold-lattes-in-kairo-1928-1928-weight-ca-47-g) This is unfortunately a low-resolution image of the Knight's breast badge from the Buckland Dix & Wood 1991 auction. No dimensions, manufacturer, or materials are identified for this badge. The ribbon on this example lacks its rosette, but the reason to include this illustration is the anomalous design on the royal crown suspension device. I have not seen an example like this on any other photos I have come across. Beginning at the inferior portion of the Buckland Dix & Wood crown: although it is not completely clear, the "interior" of the crown appears to lack the vertical relief lines normally present in this portion of the crown. The base of the crown above that has only 5 round red enamel ornamentations (quite uneven), not the blue (3) diamonds and red (4) ovals that normally alternate in this position, and it appears to lack the superior line on this band that forms the gold borders around the blue enamel diamond ornamentations. The line of gold bosses above this first band also is anomalous. The 4 red enamel triangles and central red diamond above the lowest band have 6 irregular green enamel ornaments superior to them in this BDW example. This entire panel of the crown contrasts markedly with the band of floral ornamentation relief surmounted by 5 blue & red stylized lotus blossoms with background red enamel creating contrast with the gold floral flourishes and the lotus blossoms, as seen in the uppermost comparison photos. The arches of the Buckland Dix & Wood crown are longer, than on all other examples, less curved, and have a greater number of gold bosses along some of the arches. Rather than exhibit a single boss on the central arch, the example above has at least 3. The "bulb" below the crescent and star also appears to be missing on the Buckland Dix & Wood Knight's badge. Overall, the crown shown above is much less well-executed with significant variation in the design elements and details of its ornamentation than any other genuine examples I have seen. The linkage between the superior central ray and the crown suspension device is quite different from other photos I have seen, however, there is some slight variation in the form of these linkages among some Knights' badges. The other elements of the badge appear within normal variation seen for the Knight's badge, but the quality of the photo makes it hard to determine whether the rayed & facetted silver embellishment may be less detailed than some of the Knights' badges I have illustrated on this thread (see the 2 illustrations on my post of 7 December, 2017;the 2 images on my post of 12 September, 2018; the 3rd photo of my 31 October 2018 post; the 4th photo of my 13 December, 2018 post; the 12th from last image of my post of 11 January, 2019; and the 1st image of my 21 February, 2019 post), or whether some of the gold work of the medallion margins may be less well-executed than the photos I've referenced here on this thread. The poorer workmanship and significant design differences in the crown suspension of this piece suggests a later addition or replacement with a less-skilled manufacture of the crown device. Edited February 26, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted March 6, 2019 Author Share Posted March 6, 2019 (edited) Below is an oddly "repaired" or refurbished example of a Grand Officer Class of the Order of Ismail breast star. This image comes from a 2013 auction by Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG (Auction 240, Lot 910), archived on the acsearch.com website (https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=Egypt &category=4&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1&images=1&thesaurus=1&order=0&currency=usd&company=). This example is correctly identified as the 2nd Class of this award, it was made by Lattes, measures 70.3 mm in diameter, and is hallmarked with a Cairo 900 silver fineness mark and a date hallmark of "Z"=1924-25 (although the auction description identifies this as for 1949). No gold hallmark is described and no image of the reverse is provided. The margin of the central medallion of the wreath design on this example is not the usual gold ring with raised fine dots, as seen on the inner medallion margin surrounding the gold & blue enamel inscription "Ismail". Instead it exhibits a facetted silver(?) margin that is unlike any other example I have seen. This medallion margin frame also appears a bit thicker than the usual margin, it seems to obscure some of the gold on the most inner portion of each ray of the five-rayed star. Given the design consistency in examples of the Order of Ismail, I cannot imagine that this is a genuine variant but must be an unfortunate "repair" to this breast star. The anomalous aspect of this piece is not mentioned in the auction description. Edited March 7, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted March 22, 2019 Author Share Posted March 22, 2019 (edited) Below is an image of a known individual who was a recipient of the Order of Ismail from the collection of Egyptian images by Maha Mahmoud on her flickr site (https://www.flickr.com/photos/12889139@N08/2822271379/in/dateposted/). This is a photo whose date is unspecified showing Ismail Teymour Pasha who was a chamberlain to King Fuad I, and possibly also to King Farouk I. It believe he was the son of Ahmed Teymour, an Egyptian writer and historian. Ismail Teymour Pasha's brothers were the well-known novelist Mahmoud Teymour Bey and the playwright Mohammed Teymour Bey. His grandfather (also named Ismail Teymour) was the Grand Chamberlain to Khedive Ismail. This is not a very high resolution image, but it can be zoomed to see some additional details of his costume and decorations. This image shows Ismail Teymour Pasha in his Chamberlain's uniform wearing several awards. They include what appear to be 3 neck badges worn down the center of his uniform (top-bottom): the neck badge of the 3rd Class, Commander, of the Egyptian Order of the Nile; below that is the neck badge of the 2nd Class, Grand Officer, Italian Order of the Crown; below that is the chest badge of the 4th (Officer) or 5th Class (Knight) of the Belgian Order of the Crown (I am grateful to 922F's correction below, my initial post here incorrectly identified this as the neck badge of the 3rd Class, Commandeur of the French Légion d’honneur, I have edited that mistake out of this description just now); below that is probably the neck badge of the 3rd Class, Commander (?), Order of the Star of Ethiopia. On the left side of his chest, to the viewer's R of the 4th (if the ribbon has a rosette) or 5th Class (If the ribbon has no rosette) of the Belgian Order of the Crown (from that center position to the leftmost side of his chest) are: the 4th Class, Knight, Order of Ismail; the 4th Class, Officer, Belgian Order of Leopold II; and the chest badge for the 5th Class, Chevalier (when was the term Legionnaire retired for this class?) of the French Légion d’honneur. On Ismail Teymour Pasha's right chest are (top to bottom): probably the breast star of the 2nd Class, Grand Officer of the Afghanistan Order of the Star (?); and below that the breast star of the the Italian Grand Officer Class Order of the Crown, complementing the neck badge decoration for the 2nd Class of this award. Edited March 23, 2019 by Rusty Greaves corrected error that 922F identified Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
922F Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 Rusty, Thanks for posting this image. I'd opine that Ismail Teymour Pasha's neck badge you've IDed as a Legion of Honor is rather a Belgian Crown. Note the points on the components between cross arms and the loop above the bottom juncture of the suspension wreath. When enlarged the center looks more like a crown than a head. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted March 23, 2019 Author Share Posted March 23, 2019 (edited) 922F, Many thanks for your much greater knowledge than mine. You are quite correct in spotting my oversight in attempting to list all Ismail Teymour Pasha's awards he is wearing in this photo. The zoomed image certainly shows a crown in the central medallion and that the embellishment background to the white enamel cross is the configuration of the Belgian Order of the Crown, in addition to the design on the bow joining the two halves of the laurel wreath suspension device. This would be either the 4th or the 5th Class medal, it appears to be suspended on a ribbon, but whether there is a rosette (4th Class Officer) or not (5th Class Knight) is hidden by the neck badge of the Italian Order of the Crown. Are you able to explain whether the order of the chest medals follows a clear protocol of superiority from center position outwards for these awards? I will cheat and edit the previous image with your correction. Thanks! Edited March 23, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted March 23, 2019 Author Share Posted March 23, 2019 (edited) Here are a couple additional photos of recipients of the Order of Ismail. These images show individuals I cannot currently identify, and the resolution of the photos is only moderate. I do not know the approximate dates for either image, in addition to being lost about what uniforms these men are wearing. The above photo shows an unidentified individual wearing from the viewer's L to R: the 4th Class, Knight, Order of Ismail; the 4th Class, Officer, Order of the Nile; a medal whose design I cannot identify because of the photo resolution (Devotion to Duty, Meritorious Acts?); and the 4th Class, Officer (?), of the Iranian Order of Homayoun. From: https://twitter.com/EgyChampagne/status/511990449741901824/photo/1. Can someone identify the man's uniform? Anther photo of an unidentified individual wearing the 3rd Class, Commander, neck badge of the Order of Ismail. This is the only photo I have seen of this neck badge of the Order of Ismail being worn. He also is wearing a 3rd Class, Commander, Order of the Nile neck badge to the viewer's R of that. I do not know if the 2 badges to the L of the Order of the Nile alao may be neck badges, as their suspension on his uniform contrasts with the 2 medals suspended on ribbons. From: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/107945722297247055/. Again, any help identifying the uniform would be of interest. Edited March 23, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
922F Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Rusty, Think Ismail Teymour Pasha's Belgian Crown Order neck badge indicates a commander grade award. https://twitter.com/EgyChampagne/status/511990449741901824/photo/1. may be an admiral or the commander of the royal [now Presidential] Yacht el Morissa built in 1863 and still active. About 90% certain he's wearing a naval uniform--4 rings usually means captain. Somewhere I have an image of Farouk in naval uniform [admiral] & seem to recall the ornate cuff embroidery same as this fellow but with a very broad band in place of the 4 stripes. I agree with your decorations ID. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/107945722297247055/. -- no idea of uniform ID but lean towards Anglo-Egyptian Sudanese Condominium military service. His neck awards may be Ismail, Nile, Jordan Independence, and Iran Taj [Crown]. Two breast medals appear to be UK Sudan & Khedive's Sudan. Star too washed out for me - maybe Jordan Independence 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted March 24, 2019 Author Share Posted March 24, 2019 (edited) Thanks 922F, I was unsure whether the Belgian Order of the Crown Teymour Pasha is wearing was a neck badge (3rd Class, Commander) or if there was a ribbon without rosette (5th Class, Knight) hiding under the Italian Order of the Crown. The position of the Belgian Crown would also make more sense if it was a neck badge rather than a chest badge. Thanks for your additional identifications of the other decorations as well. I thought that above individual might have a naval uniform, but with the complexity of dress military uniforms, palace protocols, and the different Bey grade distinctions, etc. I doubt I will become familiar with these uniform variations any time soon. I've attached an Image of King Farouk I in the costume I believe you mentioned. He is wearing the Collar of the Order of Muhammad Ali with the sash and chest star of that Order. It looks as though he is wearing the Order of Ismail breast star below that. The color version does not show the blue enamel of the star's arms, but the black & white image does make this look like the Order of Ismail. This image comes probably comes from a banquet reception King Farouk I had at Abdine Palace in 1939 for the Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran during his first meeting with his fiancée Princess Fawzia of Egypt. There are several other images of King Fuad in other versions of similar uniform, among them his January 1946 meeting with King Adulaziz Ibn Saud of Arabia (shown below). From: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/547680004682337198/ From: https://petercrawford1947.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/royal-egypt/king_farouk2/ One of the most common official portraits of King Farouk I (c.1948) showing him with the Collar of the Order of Muhammad Ali, along with the sash and breast star for that Order, the breast Star of the Order of Ismail, and the breast star for the Order of the Nile, all in correct order of precedence. This photo is the basis of several painted portraits, including the one I included as the final photo in my post on this thread of 13 November, 2017. This is the basis of the most well-know painted portrait of Farouk I, shown in the background of the upper & middle right photos behind King Fuad II at his home in Switzerland in the montage by ROYAL WORLD THAILAND's commemoration of Fuad II's 66th birthday shown in my 22 April, 2018 post on this thread (those 2 photos appear reversed so that the sash and breast stars are not in the correct configuration, the middle left photo in that montage with King Fuad II wearing the Order of Mohammed Ali sash incorrectly from his left shoulder is not reversed, he apparently did wear it that way at HRH Prince Mohamed Ali's wedding). From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/9605294660/in/photostream Another painted portrait from the same portrait photo depicting a summer uniform and with an incorrectly red-colored central boss of the Order of the Nile breast star. From: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/22/8c/61/228c61cf2cef931908fa502f35fddd20.jpg Another image of King Farouk I with him wearing the same awards: the full regalia of the Order of Muhammad Ali, the Order of Ismail breast star, and the Order of the Nile breast star. From: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1a/3b/30/1a3b30a48f19155f349214e18a90ab9b.jpg King Adulaziz Ibn Saud of Arabia (L) meeting King Farouk I (2nd from L) on 11 January, 1946. Farouk is wearing the same uniform shown in the first 2 banquet photos here, the Collar and breast star of the Order of Muhammad Ali, with the Order of Ismail breast star partially visible under the breast star of the Muhammad Ali award. The individual 3rd form L is Abdul Rahman Azzam Pasha, serving as a Egyptian protocol officer in chamberlain's uniform. At the R is the illustrious Ahmed Hassanein Pasha who was Chief of the Diwan and Chamberlain to Farouk I. He wears his Chamberlain's uniform and a number of decorations I cannot distinguish in this image, but clearly is wearing the breast star of the Order of Ismail on his left chest (1st or 2nd Class, the star appears to be the same size as King Farouk I's, suggesting it may be the Grand Cordon rather than Grand Officer Class). He may be wearing a sash of the 1st Class Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile. The intrepid adventurer, olympic fencing athlete, and politically important Hassanein (also shown in the 2 photos of my 14 September, 2018 post of on this thread wearing an even greater assortment of decorations) died just about 1 month after this photo was taken in a car accident, hit by a British truck skidding on a rainy bridge. From gettyimages: https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/king-of-egypt-farouk-1st-welcoming-king-ibn-saud-of-arabia-news-photo/89866384 Edited March 26, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 (edited) Below is another photo of Ahmen Hassanein wearing the Order of Ismail This is a photo taken on 27 November, 1939 of King Farouk I leaving the Egyptian Parliament building (L). The person just R of the King is Ahmed Hassanein Pasha in his Grand Chamberlain's uniform wearing the regalia of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile and the breast star of the Grand Cordon Class of the Order of Ismail. It is difficult to identify the other chest medals he is wearing. On Hassanein's R shoulder is the Grand Chamberlain's pin worn when in attendance to the king. To the R of Hassanien saluting King Farouk is Aly Maher Pasha serving his second term as Prime Minister. From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/4765920110/in/photostream Above are images of 2 different examples of the Chamberlain's pin from the period when Farouk I was king, his cipher is the central design.This pin is worn on the right lapel when the Chamberlain is on duty serving the royal family (upper pin from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/20322111042/in/photostream; lower pin from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/12036519145/in/photostream Edited March 27, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oamotme Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Rusty, I attach an image of such a Royal Household pin - this one reads, 'Farouk The First'. I am unaware as to the specific designation of this particular badge. In the Abdine Palace in Cairo there is a good display of such badges with many variations - I will see if I can find some more images. There is also a small display in the Jewellery Musem in Alexandria. Regards, Owain Rusty, I attach two further images - these are from the Jewellery Museum in Alexandria - sadly not best quality. All read, 'Farouk The First". Regards, Owain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oamotme Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Gentlemen, I attach a series of images I took at the Abdine Palace - apologies they are not of the highest quality, but they do show the variety of badges in this scarce series. The quality of production is superb. Regards, Owain. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted April 2, 2019 Author Share Posted April 2, 2019 (edited) Wow, what a fun assortment of chamberlain's pins! Of course, I also appreciate your putting a photo in with a silver Parquet version of the Mixed Courts judicial badge. This appears to be the same judicial badge that Mohamed Eissa illustrates in an artsy photo from Abdine Palace on his flickr site (https://www.flickr.com/photos/eissaphotos/3396138687/in/pool-egyptianroyalty/). Many thanks Owain. Below are a few images of chamberlains wearing these pins. Unfortunately none of the images provide any details of the pins, and they can only be recognized by their position and shape. Most of these images can be zoomed for at least some additional detail. Above is an undated photo of Queen Farida visiting the National Library. To the viewer's R is a Chamberlain wearing the chamberlain's pin on his R lapel. The Chamberlain looks a lot like an older Ismail Teymour Pasha. (From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/1002210535/in/photostream) This scene is at the at the foot of the Tashrifah staircase, the 2 chamberlains on the far right are Said Zulificar Pasha (Grand Chamberlain) at the far R, and Ahmed Hassanein Pasha (Premier Chamberlaisn) just to the viewer's left of the Grand Chamberlain. Both can be seen wearing the chamberlains' pins on their R lapels. (From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/12889139@N08/3010690482/in/photostream/) King Farouk I's Grand Chamberlain's Cabinet in the 1920s. This image can be zoomed to making reading the names & titles easier. (From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/8155481320, courtesy of Mrs. Dahlia Zulfikar) A higher resolution image of the same Grand Chamberlain's Cabinet of King Farouk I, but lacking the identifications of all the individuals as in the above, lower-resolution image. (From: ttps://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/2819700285/in/photostream, courtesy of Ms. Maha Mahmoud) Letterhead for the Cabinet of the Grand Chamberlain (From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/9011781015/in/pool-egyptianroyalty/) A group of Court Officials during King Farouk I's reign wearing what appear to be chamberlain's pins on their R lapels. (From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/8395692018/in/pool-egyptianroyalty/, courtesy of Mr. Aly Zulfikar) To get back to the Order of Ismail, below are 2 images of named individuals wearing the Order of Ismail, a couple photographs of King Farouk I's personal regalia of the Grand Cordon Order of Ismail, and a photo of an individual wearing the Order of Ismail at a royal banquet whose name is given in an Arabic label above him. A photo from King Farouk I's 18th birthday celebration in 1938. From L to R are: Princess Nimatalla Mukhtar (1876–1945), Farouk's paternal aunt; King Farouk I wearing the Collar, sash, and breast star (visible in other photos from this celebration) of the Order of Mohamed Ali; Queen Farida (1921-1988) wearing the Grand Cordon sash and badge of the Order of el-Kamal in brilliants; Sultana Melek (1869–1956), widow of Sultan Hussein Kamel, Farouk's paternal uncle; wearing the Grand Cordon sash and badge of Order of el-Kamal; Prince Soliman Daoud wearing the breast star of the Order of Ismail, possibly with the sash of that Order indicating the Grand Cordon Class. (From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/5666876587/). The Grand Chamberlain Said Zulificar Pasha in his Chamberlain's coat wearing the breast star of the Grand Cordon Class of the Order of Ismail in superior position on his right breast, along with his many other awards. This is a cropped image from pg. 206 of The Graphic, November 12, 1930 that features a number of Egyptian "Notables". At the time, Said Zulificar was the Grand Chamberlain to King Fuad I. The Le Mondain Ègyptien: the Egyptian Who's Who: L' Annuaire de l' Elite d' Egypt. F. E. Noury & Fils, le Caire for 1939 identifies the following awards for Said Zulificar Pasha (pg. 388): Grand Cordon of the Order of Mohamed Ali, Grand Cordon of the Order of Ismail, Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile, Grand Cordon of the Belgian Order of Leopold II, Grand Cordon of the Iranian Order of Homayoun, the 1st Class Syrian Medal of Honor, and the 1st Class Lebanese Medal of Honor and Merit. (cropped from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/7762810122/in/pool-egyptianroyalty/) Photo of the 3 awards belonging to King Farouk I that he probably wore more than any other decorations. Upper L is the sash and sash badge of the Grand Cordon Order of Mohamed Ali, upper R shows detail of some of the Collar of Mohamed Ali, lower R is a piece that was worn inside of the pendant on the Collar of the Order of Mohamed Ali featuring King Farouk I's cypher surmounted by Egypt's royal crown; middle row far L is the breast star of the Grand Cordon Class of the Order of Mohamed Ali; middle center is King Farouk I's breast star of the Grand Cordon Order of Ismail; lower L is the breast star of the Grand Cordon Class of the Order of the Nile. From: : https://www.flickr.com/photos/27031646@N08/2521809470/in/pool-egyptianroyalty/) A low-resolution photo of King Farouk I's Grand Cordon Order of Ismail breast star (L) and sash badge (R). These are identified as from the Alexandria National Museum. (Cropped from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/36914349@N04/4397389512/in/pool-egyptianroyalty/) A photo of a Royal Banquet in honor of the Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran (5th from R, next to King Farouk I). The man in round glasses 3rd from King Farouk I's R is wearing a breast star of the Order of Ismail. Perhaps one of the Arab speakers on GMIC could provide the name of this individual by zooming this image. (From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/43829903@N02/4047823450/in/pool-egyptianroyalty/) Edited April 2, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 (edited) Below is a cased example of the 3rd Class, Commander, Order of Ismail from Lot 1027 in an April, 2019 auction on Very Important Lot (https://veryimportantlot.com/en/lot/view/egypt-ismail-order-nischan-al-ismail-3-class-175085). This example is made by Lattes of Cairo. The dimensions of this example are given as 83 mm high X 61 mm wide, and it weighs 49.0 g. The description identifies this piece as 750 gold, correctly as 14 k gold. These are not high resolution images, but they confirm the hallmark placements on the Lattes-made Order of Ismail as seen in other examples I have illustrated on this thread. Obverse of this Commander Class Order of Ismail in its case. Oblique view of the obverse of this 3rd Class Order of Ismail in its case. Reverse of this 3rd Class Order of Ismail showing the full set of 3 hallmarks on the suspension clip to the ribbon, the single hallmark for Cairo manufacture of 18 k gold, and the full set of 3 hallmarks on the reverse boss of the central medallion. The resolution is low, but all appear to match the close-up image of the hallmarks on the suspension clip (shown below). Detail of the obverse of the crown suspension device, showing the placement of the 3 hallmarks on the right side of the suspension device arm connecting the superior ray of the star with the crown suspension device. Close-up detail of the reverse of the crown suspension and suspension clip showing the only good resolution image of the hallmarks on this example of a Commander Class of the Order off Ismail. The 3 hallmarks on the suspension clip indicate the Cairo assay office identification of 18 k gold, the ibis for Egyptian manufacture, and the letter "A" indicating manufacture in 1925-1926. The single hallmark on the reverse the crown device shows the Cairo assay office designation of 18 k gold. Inside of the superior lid of the case associated with this Commander Class Order of Ismail showing the inscriptions. View of the exterior upper lid of the case for this Order of Ismail. Lot 1028 from the same April 2019 auction by Very Important Lot also included the example below that is erroneously listed as a miniature of the Order of Ismail (https://veryimportantlot.com/en/lot/view/egypt-ismail-order-nischan-al-ismail-and-the-m-175086). This is the same design as an item from a December 2017 auction by Spink & Son, archived on the Salesroom website (https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-us/auction-catalogues/spink/catalogue-id-srspi10156/lot-bd1c4e4c-7dc1-4560-a3c7-a83200ba36e7) that I previously illustrated in the 2nd photo of my first post on 6 December, 2017 on this thread (also identified by Spink & Son as a miniature of the Order of Ismail). Owain identified this as the Order of the Star of Ethiopia in his post here of 6 December, 2017. See his comments in that post on the poor workmanship of this particular design (probably the same Spink & Son example). Obverse of this Order of the Star of Ethiopia that is misidentified in the Lot 1028 description on the Very Important Lot website as a miniature of the Order of Ismail. The ribbon is that for the Order of Ismail, rather than the red, yellow, & green appropriate for this Ethiopian medal. There are several significant similarities in this example to the one I illustrated on 6 December 2017 indicating it is probably the same piece from the Spink & Son December, 2017 auction. That auction description by Spink & Son identified what may be this exact piece as 25 mm high including the crown suspension X 16 mm wide. Reverse of this same Order of the Star of Ethiopia misidentified as a miniature Order of Ismail on the Very Important Lot auction site for Lot 1028. The description states that the silver purity mark on the reverse reads "935", however, it is probably "925", as identified in the Spink & Son auction description. Edited April 18, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted April 25, 2019 Author Share Posted April 25, 2019 (edited) I have had minimal luck finding background information about J. Lattes, the manufacturer of the most beautiful examples of the Order of Ismail, as well as other Egyptian medals. I have previously given a short synopsis in my post of 14 November, 2017 on this thread of a brief mention in The Jewelers Circular and Horological Review, Vol 34, No. 24, of 14 July, 1897, pg. 9 of the shop of J. Lattes as a small but attractive store at the margin of the market area (the Muski) and what the author (Chas Crossman) termed the foreigner's quarters. I have recently been searching some advertisements relative to manufacturers of the Mixed Courts judicial badges, and came across an example of an undated folding business card for J. Lattes in English from an 18 July, 2018 eBay auction (https://www.ebay.com/itm/163133205268?rmvSB=true). The listing included low-resolution images of the 3 illustrations that make up the folding advertisement card pages measuring 4" X 5-3/8" when folded and 5-3/8" X 8" when opened. The first page is an advertisement , possibly for liquidation sale of some of Lattes' stock. This is the only information I have found identifying the founding date of Lattes' shop as 1860. The back page shows 7 coins, apparently with prices. When opened, the inside page shows a map of Cairo indicating the location of Lattes' shop on Sharia el Manakh street. There is a slightly higher resolution image of the first page of this card that I have included as the first image below. Page 1 of the J. Lattes folding trade card. Low-resolution image of the back page of this folding trade card. Low-resolution photograph of the interior map of the J. Lattes folding card showing the location of Lattes shop. Above is a roughly contemporary map of Cairo for tourists from the inside of a folding advertising flyer for the Victoria Hotel & New Khedival showing the location of that Hotel with the main street route of Sharia Kamel to Opera Square continuing to Sharia Abdine and a couple tram routes (from:https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/12708781123/in/dateposted/). In comparison with the poor quality image of the eBay auction map image above, this higher-resolution map (that can be enlarged) does show the approximate location where J. Lattes shop was located on Sharia el Manakh (on the north side of the street?) between Sharia el Imad el Din on the west and probably an unnamed alleyway on the east side that is approximately 1/3 of a block west of Opera Square. In a listing of shops selling European wares for travelers to visit in Cairo from the 1908 book Egypt and the Sûdân: Handbook for Travellers, 6th Edition, by Karl Baedecker, Karl Baedeker Publishers, Leipzig (Dulau & Co., London; Charles Scribner's Sons, New York ) the author identifies the address of J. Lattes shop as "Sharia el-Manâkh 30". A telegraph office was located at the most western end of this block, identified as the "Eastern Telegraph Office" in a very good map from 1920 (titled: General Map of Cairo; created by the Survey of Egypt, 1920; Contributor Names: Egypt. Maṣlaḥat al-Misāḥah; Call Number: G8304.C2 1920 .E4; Digital ID: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g8304c.ct002478; Library of Congress Control Number: 200958102) available online though the US Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, Washington, D.C. 20540-4650 USA at https://www.loc.gov/resource/g8304c.ct002478/?r=-0.524,-0.324,2.049,0.835,0. This location also is listed as the "foreign telegraph office" located at "15 Sharia-el-Manakh" on page 21 of the travel guide: Cairo of To-Day: A Practical guide to Cairo and its Environs , 1898, by E. A. Reynolds-Bali, London, Adams and Charles Black (printed by R.& R. Clark, Limited, Edinburgh). Below are two stereo views of this market area taken on unidentified streets in the early 20th century. Stereo image titled: "The 'Muski'. The great street of Cairo and one of the most interesting in the world, Egypt", taken on approximately 21 September 1903 by William Hermann Rau. From the US Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540, USA. Call Number: LOT 13980, no. 38; Digital ID: stereo 1s01871 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/stereo.1s01871; Library of Congress Control Number: 2009631292; LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/2009631292 (From: https://www.loc.gov/item/2009631292/). Stereo view titled: "The Muski, Cairo Egypt", from the Keystone-Mast Collection at University of California Riverside Museum of Photography. Taken September 2, 1931by George Lewis (https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt6f59q0kj/?docId=kt6f59q0kj&order=2&brand=oac4&layout=printable) Edited April 26, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 (edited) I have identified the individual wearing the 4th Class, Knight, Order of Ismail shown in the portrait of the 1st photo in my post of 23 March, 2019 on this thread. I am duplicating that image as this version is just very slightly higher resolution than the March image I posted and also includes the name of the studio. This portrait is of Rear Admiral (Amir el Bahr) Galal Eddin Allouba Bey, commander of the H.M.S. Mahroussa, the ship that took King Farouk I into exile in Italy. The studio name is Ahkar, but I do not know which city that studio was located in at the time of this photo. His uniform is the Egyptian Navy gala frockcoat, adopted in 1905 and apparently based upon the Ottoman Navy frockcoat. From: http://www.photorientalist.org/easymedia/exiled-king-farouk-and-narriman/narriman-farouk/ An image of the Egyptian Royal Yacht H.M.S. Mahroussa from a press photo dated 2 August, 1952 with the caption: "Brings Exiled King to Capri. Off the Isle of Capri: The Egyptian royal yacht Marroussa rides at anchor off Capri, July 29, after bringing King Farouk of Egypt and his party to their Italian haven. In the background, on Mt. Tiberio is the Hotel Augusto Cesare, where the exiled ruler spent his honeymoon with Queen Narriman. Farouk was forced to abdicate by a surprise military coup. He abdicated in favor of his infant son, King Ahmed Fuad II, who was brought by Farouk and the queen to Capri." H.M.S. Mahroussa ("Guarded by God's Blessing") was commissioned by Khedive Ismail, and was completed in 1865. It lead the inauguration ceremony opening the Suez Canal in 1869, was the ship Khedive Ismail took into exile in 1879, it also brought Khedive Abbas Hilmi II into exile in 1914, President Muhamad Anwar el-Sadat made extensive use of the yacht, visiting the US for the country's Bicentennial celebration, and taking it to the peace negotiations with Israel in 1979. The 6th photo of my post of 24 March, 2019 on this thread showing King Farouk I (wearing a similar admiral's uniform to that above of Rear Admiral Galal Allouba) and Ahmed Hassanein Pasha both wearing the Grand Cordon Class Order of Ismail decorations marks the reception greeting King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud who came to Egypt in January 1946 aboard the Mahroussa. Recently, it was the first ship through a new extension of the Suez Canal in 2015. H.M.S. Mahroussa is the oldest operating motor yacht in the world and among the 10 largest (411 ft when built and extended to 451 ft in 1970). From: http://www.photorientalist.org/exhibitions/farouk-and-narriman-egypts-last-royal-romance/photographs/ A low-resolution image of a military Pasha in full regalia, identified as Hassan Raafat Pasha in the jpg's title, wearing what appears to be an Order of Ismail (From: http://www.egy.com/historica/06-03-01.php). If this is an Order of Ismail, it is a configuration of wearing the 3rd Class Commander's neck badge similar to that shown in the 2nd photo of my 23 March, 2019 post, worn with what appears to be a shortened ribbon like a chest badge, but in the position that a neck badge would be worn. To the viewer's right is an Order of the Nile that also appears in the position of a neck badge (3rd Class, Commander's badge), but also worn on a short ribbon. As the resolution of this image is not good, I cannot be certain whether this is an Order of Ismail, but its' precedence over the Order of the Nile also suggest it may be the Nishan al-Ismail. Hassan Raafat Pasha's position is identified on the same website as an MD of the Royal Military Household. He was invested as Pasha on 1 June, 1923 (http://www.egy.com/historica/pashalst.php). Edited May 2, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 (edited) Here is a nice image of the 2nd Class, Grand Officer breast star of the Order of Ismail from Egypt's Royal Jewelry Museum in Alexandria (From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/96884693@N00/37385197782/in/photostream/). I have been meaning to add this photo, but lost it in my computer files for quite a while and just stumbled across it again. So many of the images I can find are from auction sites that I like to show a few museum examples that are available for anyone to visit, see, & enjoy. Edited May 1, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted July 13, 2019 Author Share Posted July 13, 2019 (edited) I recently came across some interesting recycled use of design elements of the Order of Ismail in the Order of Saba'a (Nishan Wissam) of Yemen. I am not very familiar with this Order, so any comments by other learned members of GMIC would be greatly appreciated. The award appears to be part of a couple that were "sponsored" by Egypt during the first period of the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) from ~1962-1967. Owain notes in a post of March 26, 2011 in "ARAB MEDALS-Yemen" (started February 7, 2007 by Antonio Preto in this section of Middle East & Arab States) that: "I would surmise that following the overthrow of Sallal in 1967 [Abdullah al-Sallal, the first president of the YAR from September 1962-November 1967] the Egyptian sponsored awards of Saba, Marib and medals of Bravery and Liberation became obsolete and the ruling Republican Council instituted a new award of Marib to replace the previous series and thereby make a break with the Sallall (Nasser supported) regime." As can be seen in the illustrations below, this award combines a couple elements form past royal Egyptian Orders. The rayed backing embellishment appears to be from the Egyptian Order of the Nile. Hallmarks illustrated on these clearly indicate Egyptian manufacture, and the couple of examples I have seen with readable date hallmarks were manufactured within the first few years of the founding of the YAR. The central arms of the blue & gold star are those of the Order of Ismail design, lacking gold & enameled finals at the distal end of each arm of the star. The photographs show clearly that the gold floral designs within the arms are not in relief, something that is seen only on examples of the Order of Ismail made by Fahmy Tewfik Bichay, and possibly on some examples by his father Tewfik Bichay. Obverse of the YAR period Order of Saba'a, Grand Cordon sash badge, sash (replacement sash, the Order Saba'a uses the same colors as the Order of Ismail sash or ribbon, but there is a single central red strip on the Order of Saba'a in contrast with the edge stripes on each margin for the Egyptian award), and breast star, from a current auction on The Treasures of the Orient website (https://www.theorienttreasures.com/shop-now/orders-medals-decorations/yemen-order-of-saba-a-grand-cross-set-sash-breast-star-badge-medal-nichan-wissam). Note the lack of any engraving on the gold floral designs on each of the arms of the central star. The suspension device on the sash badge is made from another piece of the same design as each of the arms of the blue & gold star. The rayed embellishment is identical to many seen on the royal award version of the Order of the Nile. The gold margin of the central boss is quite similar to the form of this feature on the Order of the Nile, lacking an inner band seen on both the sash badges (& the 2nd & 3rd Class neck badges) and breast stars of the Order of Ismail. The gold line where the crotch of each blue & gold arm of the star meet also is not an aspect of the design seen in the Order of Ismail. The sash badge of this example is identified as being 70 mm in diameter and the breast star is 90 mm in diameter. This set is identified as allegedly coming from the 1950s, however, it appears most likely that this award was only created after 1962 when the Egyptian-backed revolutionary YAR troops took over North Yemen and deposed Crown Prince Muhammad al-Badr (and consistent with the date hallmark, see the discussion of the photo of the reverse of this set below). Reverse view of the same Grand Cordon set of the Order of Saba'a from the current The Treasures of the Orient auction showing the Egyptian hallmarks. The sash badge on the L exhibits Tewfik Bichay's hallmark, in addition to a silver hallmark at the far right on the central silver boss on the reverse (a purity hallmark, but I cannot read it), and a mark on the 10th ray (counterclockwise from the 12:00 position where the suspension device is attached) that is a purity hallmark identifying the Cairo assay office determination of 900 silver (90% pure). On the R, the breast star has 2 hallmarks on the tunic pin, that are a Cairo office assay mark of 900 silver and an Arabic letter date of 1962-1965. Just below and to the left of those hallmarks on the tunic pin, a hallmark on the central boss is a Cairo assay office mark for 900 silver. The 2 hallmarks on the 6th ray from the 12:00 position( again following counterclockwise) include the Cairo assay office identification of 900 silver and the Arabic date letter for1962-1965. Note the the suspension device (an arm element of the 5-pointed star) of the sash badge is gold, as in the construction the blue & gold star of the Order of Ismail. The reverse morphology of the silver embellishment looks identical to those seen on pre-egyptian Revolution versions of the Order of the Nile. Obverse of a set of the sash badge and breast star of the Grand Cordon Class of the Order of Saba'a, showing the same design similarities to pre-revolutionary Egyptian awards in the arms of the blue & gold star (to the Order of Ismail) and the rayed backing embellishment (to the Order of the Nile). This example comes from a March 2019 auction (Auction XLIV, Lot 3461) by La Galerie Numismatic, archived onto Sixbid.com website (https://www.sixbid.com/en/la-galerie-numismatique/5835/yemen/4879721/order-of-saba-a?term&orderCol=lot_number&orderDirection=asc&priceFrom&displayMode=large&auctionSessions=). The sash badge is identified as 79 mm X 62 mm, and the breast star is 91 mm in diameter. The maker's hallmark shown in the lower left of the photo montage is that of Tewfik Bichay, oriented incorrectly, ~90 deg counterclockwise from the correct position. The illustration above of The Treasures of the Orient example also shows this same orientation of the maker's hallmark in relation to the orientation of the suspension device. All of the examples of the Order of Ismail with the Tewfik Bichay hallmark show a correct orientation, but I am unsure if this is generally true of the Order of the Nile awards. The 2 hallmarks shown on the far R in the lower right of the photo montage include (L-R): the Cairo assay office mark for 900 silver, and the Arabic date letter for 1962-1965. Edited July 13, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted August 22, 2019 Author Share Posted August 22, 2019 (edited) I hope someone loves the above Yemeni Order of Saba'a medals, but given my interest in the Order of Ismail, their design looks like scary chimera of Frankensteined leftovers from defunct Egyptian orders. I have an identification of an individual I have shown wearing an Order of Ismail that I am putting together for a future post, but I just want to add another few photos of the Nishan al-Ismail to chase away how these Order of Saba'a images look like disarticulated insects to me. Below are some moderate-low resolution images of what is identified as a 3rd Class Commander's neck badge of the Order of Ismail. These come from a July 2019 auction on the eMedals website(https://www.emedals.com/egypt-kingdom-an-order-of-ismail-in-gold-i-class-commander-by-j-lattes-c-1924). The badge was made by Lattes of Cairo and lacks the neck ribbon. The auction description calls it a "1st Class Commander" version of this award. The suspension loop on this example does appear to be that seen on the 3rd Class Commander configuration (but also see the variant shown in Owain's example made by Fahmy Tewfik Bichay in his post of 5 April, 2018 on this thread that clearly shows a circular loop attached to the crown suspension device attached that encircles the ribbon). However, that same form of suspension loop also was used for the neck badge of the 2nd Class Grand Officer Class and may be the most common form on the 1st Class Grand Cordon sash badge as well. Most examples of the 1st Class Grand Cordon sash badge seems to be attached with the same suspension loop, but they may be attached to the decorative knot of the sash slightly differently on some, although good images of this configuration are not common on auction sites, probably as fewer Grand Cordon sets are available. The Grand Cordon Order of Ismail in the photo of my post of 6 December, 2017 on this thread (by Lattes) is ambiguous in what kind of gold suspension loop is used to attach the sash badge to a cloth loop in the decorative knot of the sash. The example shown in the 4th photo of my post of 13 November, 2017 that also was made by Lattes exhibits the same suspension loop attachment of the sash badge, and the 3rd photo shows in that post shows it attached to a cloth loop on the sash's decorative bow. The Grand Cordon sash badge shown in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th photos of my post of 22 February, 2019 on this thread (made by Lattes) are the identical suspension loop to that used for the 2nd and 3rd Classes. The Grand Cordon set made by Tewfik Bichay illustrated in my post of 30 April, 2018 shows the same style of suspension loop as can be seen in the many available auction images of the 2nd and 3rd class badges of this award. The 28th and 29th photos (the 4th and 3rd from final images) in my post of 11 January, 2019 show the sash badge suspension loops for a Grand Cordon Grand Cordon sash badge made by Tewfik Bichay that also has the same style of suspension loop as the Lattes examples of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Class badges. The only clear suggestion of a different style of suspension loop unfortunately comes from an example of the Grand Cordon sash that lacks the sash badge. The last illustration in this post shows a suspension device attached to the cloth loop of the decorative sash knot from a past eMedals auction. I obviously cannot determine whether the normal suspension loop attached to the crown suspension device would have attached to this apparently brass (indicated by the green corrosion?) clip attached to the cloth loop on the sash bow by a circular loop. The auction description states that this badge measures 59.38 mm wide X 81.77 mm high (including the suspension device and loop). The weight is given as 40.1 g. Although the photo resolution is not good enough to see any of the hallmarks in any of the photos of this piece (or other details of interest) other than those visible on the close-up of the reverse of the central boss, the eMedals description states that it is "...hallmarked on the reverse, suspension, suspension loop, crown reverse...", indicting all the normal locations for hallmarks as shown in several of my previous posts on this thread. As discussed in my post of 13 December, 2018, the dimensions of the Grand Cordon sash badge, the Grand Officer neck badge, and the Commander neck badge all show overlapping size ranges. Unlike the breast star that is consistency larger for the 1st Class of this award (mostly 80 mm in diameter, with reported variance of 81 or 82 mm on a few examples) compared with that of the 2nd Class (70 mm in diameter), where size alone can distinguish which class a breast star represents, other elements are needed to securely identify the Grand Cordon sash badge and the Grand Officer neck badge from the Commander neck badge. The 40.1 g weight of this eMedals example is quite a bit less heavy than the range reported for other 1st Class sash badges, 2nd Class neck badges, or the 3rd Class neck badges that vary from ~47-49 g. Obverse of the July 2019 eMedlas auction example identified as a 3rd Class Commander's neck badge. (From: https://www.emedals.com/egypt-kingdom-an-order-of-ismail-in-gold-i-class-commander-by-j-lattes-c-1924) Oblique obverse view of the same eMedals July 2019 3rd Class neck badge showing some good detail of the construction of this badge. Reverse view of this same eMedals 3rd Class neck badge. Oblique view of the reverse of this same Commander's neck badge, useful in shown some construction aspects of this badge. Close -up via of the reverse boss of this same Commander's neck badge showing the "LATTES" hallmark and below it the three Egyptian precious metal hallmarks, right-left: the Cairo assay office mark for 18 carat gold; the ibis mark identifying Egyptian produced gold work; and the date letter of "Y" indicating manufacture in 1923-1924. The auction description correctly identifies all of these hallmarks. High-resolution image of the suspension clip attached by a circular loop to a cloth loop on a 1st Class Grand Cordon Order of Ismail sash from a past eMedals auction (https://www.emedals.com/order-of-ismail-1915-a-sash-w01278). The material the clip his made from is not identified in the auction description. This example of the sash did not have the sash badge nor a breast badge associated with it. No probable manufacturer for this sash is identified in the eMedals description. This is the only image I have found showing such an attachment clip. As noted in the text above, I still have several questions about the attachment configuration (and potential variation) that is represented for the sash badge of the Grand Cordon Class of this award compared with the attachment of the Grand Officer's or Commander's neck badges. Edited August 23, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted August 27, 2019 Author Share Posted August 27, 2019 (edited) The 2006 JOMSA article describing the Order of Ismail in Vol 54, No 4, in Figure 15 on pg 20 shows what appears to be a very similar clip used to attatch the sash badge of the Grand Cordon Class of the Order of Ismail as the illustration above in my post of 22 August, 2019, from a past eMedals auction . From: 2006. Journal of the Orders and Medals Society of America (JOMSA) 54 (4): Fig 15, pg. 20 Edited August 27, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted August 29, 2019 Author Share Posted August 29, 2019 (edited) I believe that I have found identifications for 2 individuals I have previously illustrated on this thread wearing the Order of Ismail. On 31 October, 2018 the first photo of my post shows an individual identified only as a Royal Guard wearing the 4th Class Knight Order of Ismail. In a post of 23 March, 2019 I was unable to identify the man in the 2nd photo showing another uniformed individual wearing the 3rd Class Commander's neck badge of the Order of Ismail. I am including those previous photographs below with my probable identifications, along with a couple of additional images showing both men at different ages, if these identifications are correct. Except for the first image, all of the other photos can be zoomed for greater details. This above image (from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/107945722297247055/) is one of these "unidentified" men that I posted on 23 March, 2019 without an information about who he was, nor the date of the photograph. This same photograph appears on several Arabic language websites with an apparent identification. This individual wearing a military uniform and a neck badge of the Commander Class (3rd) of the Order of Ismail (in addition to 6 other decorations) appears to be a well-known person. Most of the information I have been able to find is in awkward translations from Arabic websites, but I will try to outline what seems relatively secure bit of information about this person. I believe this is Abdullah Al-Nagoumi Pasha ("Nagoumi" is the preferred spelling among many appearing in English language texts), dressed in a uniform that 922F commented on 23 March, 2019 as likely being that of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudanese Condominium military services. I have been informed by an Egyptian friend whose grandfather served with Nagoumi Pasha in the Sudan that the uniform is actually similar to a Field Marshall uniform that the king wore, except that it has only 1 star on the sleeve instead of 3, as did the king's. He stated this is a uniform worn by high officials of the state to be worn on official state occasions (i.e., the opening of Parliament). My friend indicated this is the highest class of dress uniform, aside form the mess dress of evening wear. To the viewer's right of the Order of Ismail is an Order of the Nile (the 3rd Class, Commander's neck badge). 922F also identified the medals I am unfamiliar with in that same post as: "Jordan Independence, and Iran Taj [Crown]. Two breast medals appear to be UK Sudan & Khedive's Sudan. Star too washed out for me - maybe Jordan Independence". I also was told by the same Egyptian friend cited above that Nagoumi Pasha was certainly invested with the neck badge of the Order of the Crown of Iran (Nishan i-Taj-i-Iran) by Prince Reza Pahlavi, during his visit to Egypt to marry Princess Fawzia (see the 2nd photo, and the last image of the banquet in my post of 2 April, 2019 on this thread for an images of this event). Both of the first 2 websites cited below include the above photo and identify it as Abdullah Al-Nagoumi (there are probably addition Arabic language sites with this photo, but I am having trouble accessing them a second time to check through Google image search). A translation of the information on the website http://egyhistory.com/الحملة-العسكرية-على-السودان-1820م/ identifies him with the title “Major General”, however, it appears likely that he served in a brigade under Major General Muhammed Naguib, rather than holding this rank himself. The egyhistory.com website states that he served as the head of the Royal Guard until 1952, and then held a post as a board member on the first Fuad Institute for Desert Research. At least two additional Arabic language websites feature this same photo and contain apparently identical biographical texts with other details about Abdullah Al-Nagoumi Pasha: http://www.ahram.org.eg/News/51466/121/362829/تراث-و-حضارة/«عبد-الله-باشا-النجومى»-المثقف-الموسوعى.aspx. Both of these texts, and other sources, provide a range for his birth between 1880-1885 and identify his father as an Emir in the Madhi revolution, Abdul Rahman Al Nagoumi , who was killed in the Battle of Toshka on 3 August, 1889 (http://sudapedia.sd/en/content/399). Allegedly, young Abdullah was discovered asleep in the vicinity of the battlefield, taken by the army and handed over to Khadio Tawfiq. Abdullah was educated in the royal palaces and graduated from the military academy in 1918. He subsequently served with the brigade of Major General Muhammed Naguib. The translation available to me for this text is unclear about his subsequent career. However, it appears he may have had a role in relation to King Farouk I’s interest in hunting and a later association with animal conservation after the 1952 revolution. A couple of additional photos have turned up in my searches, both attached below, that may show what appears to be Abdullah Al-Nagoumi Pasha as an older man in a military uniform with King Farouk I. The facial features in these images of an older man to the viewer’s left of King Farouk I (shown below) are very similar to the earlier image above I previously posted. One other image from the news magazine Life also appears to show Abdullah Al-Nagoumi with other members of the Royal Guard in one of the Royal Palaces (Abdine Palace?) The above undated images shows the individual to the viewer's left of King Farouk I that I believe may be an older Abdullah Al-Nagoumi Pasha than shown in the above photo I previously posted of him. However, I would be interested if other individuals have a different identification of this man in a military uniform. I do not know the date of this photo and the next one below. A dated photo of King Farouk I attending the 25th anniversary of King Fuad I University in 1950 shows him in a darker suit than this one, although his mustaches and the dark glasses are identical. It is possible this is a different event associated with that jubilee celebration, but I currently cannot date this image. King Farouk I is wearing the ceremonial academic robes associated with his role as President of King Fuad I University (originally named as Egyptian University from its founding in 1908 until 1940, renamed as King Fuad I University from 1940 until 1952, and then renamed as Cario University [Gām‘et El Qāhira] after 1952 to the present). I illustrated a commemorative medal celebrating the 25th jubilee anniversary of King Fuad I University (1925-1950) showing busts of both Fuad I and Farouk I on the obverse face in my post of 22 July, 2018 on the GMIC thread "Egypt Khediveate Judge's Badge question" that I started on 17 November, 2016 here in the Middle East & Arab States section. Several other photos of King Farouk I's attendance of this jubilee also show him in the same Presidential academic robe. (From: https://www.pinterest.com/offsite/?token=165-195&url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F6f%2F9a%2Fe1%2F6f9ae18bbb8cf019606b0966395a221f.jpg&pin=4222193379989428&client_tracking_params=CwABAAAAEDcxMzE2OTI2MTk4MjE0NDYA~0) Another photograph, probably from this same event with King Farouk I wearing the Presidential academic robe of King Fuad I University, that shows the same man 2nd from the viewer's left of King Farouk I that I believe is the older Abdullah Al-Nagoumi Pasha. (From: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2d/72/e4/2d72e40ee2bbe5a708ee6febde96fb2d.jpg) This is the text associated with a version of the above image. I do not know if the Arabic provides any additional information about the photo. (From: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2d/72/e4/2d72e40ee2bbe5a708ee6febde96fb2d.jpg) Photograph from the American magazine Life, showing an image of a younger Abdullah Al-Nagoumi Pasha at the far left on the couch, wearing the same dress uniform as in the first photo above. Nagoumi Pasha is not wearing his Order of Ismail (probably indicating this is prior to the award of the Order of Ismai), and appears younger than in the 1st photo above. He is wearing 4 of the same medals seen in the first image posted here: the 3rd Class Order of the Nile, the Order of the Crown of Iran (Nishan i-Taj-i-Iran), the Egyptian Khedive's Sudan medal, and what I believe is the the British Sudan Defense Force General Service medal (indicated by the ribbon configuration, exhibiting the wider central blue stripe than seen in some examples, bordered by yellow stripes and the outer black stripes are not visible in this and the above photo of Nagoumi Pasha). Hassan Kamel-Kelisi-Morali has identified the 3 men on the left in this image on Zeinab Mohamed's Flickr photostream as (L-R): HE Abdullah Al-Nagoumi Pasha, HE Omar Fati Pasha (and a contributor, Metro50, identified him as the King’s aide-de-camp); and Osman El Mahdi Pasha. The man on the far right is unidentified. Of additional interest in this photo, Osman el Mahdi is wearing on the viewer's left center of his uniform the 4th class Order of Ismail (with a ribbon bearing the rosette) and the 4th Class Order of the Nile (also showing the ribbon with its rosette). I cannot distinguish the other medals he is wearing. I believe that the photo I posted on 31 October, 2018 of an individual identified only as a Royal Guard may be a younger image of Osman El Mahdi Pasha. I do not yet know whether this photo was published in Life magazine, if it is part of photography taken by Life staff but not included in magazine publication, or used in some other Life publication. An article in the edition of Life from 10 April, 1944 of a unique set of photos from Abdine Palace (pp 85-93) shows various behind-the-scenes with service staff, but principally features the kitchen and dining room staff. 1944 is the most probable date for the above photograph. Several images of Abdine Palace with attributions to Life (as in the lower left of the above photo) appear to be associated with a date of 1933, but Najumi Pasha and El Mahdi Pasha only worked for King Farouk I, and were never in the service of King Fuad I. I cannot yet locate the publication or other reference for those 1933 images either . (From: Zeinab Mohamed's Flickr photostream: https://www.flickr.com/photos/96884693@N00/3086912058/) Above is the image I posted on 31 October, 2018 in this thread showing an unidentified man in a photo offered on an eBay auction. This photo is from the Riad Shehata Studio in Cairo, the official photographer to King Fuad I and King Farouk I. I do not know the founding date of the studio, but it did continue under that name for an unspecified time after Riad Shehata's death in 1942. I currently feel that this may be an photo of a younger Osman El Mahdi, shown in a somewhat later photo in the Life magazine image above. Although his mustaches are smaller in this eBay photo, several aspects of his facial features (especially his chin) are extremely similar. The individuals in both photos are wearing identical uniforms (this is Royal Guard uniform design was created by King Fuad I when Egypt became a Kingdom in 1922), and this earlier image shows several medals that also appear in the Life photo, although the low resolution of that photo makes identification of the additional awards very difficult. The Life photo clearly shows the rosettes on the ribbons for the Order of Ismail and the Order of the Nile that are partially obscured in this photo. 922F identified a couple of the medals in this photo that I did not know in his post on this thread of 31 October, 2018. He identified the 3rd medal (to the viewer's right of the Order of the Nile) as either the Egyptian Medal for Meritorious Actions or the Medal of Devotion; we both identified the 4th as the Khedive's Sudan Medal; 922F id'd the 5th as the Iranian Order of Homayoun [Humayun]; the 6th as the Belgian Order of Leopold II; and we both identified the 7th as an Italian Crown. (From: https://www.ebay.com/itm/EGYPT-VINTAGE-PHOTOGRAPH-MILITARY-OFFICER-WITH-SWORD-MEDALS-PHOTO-Riad-Shehata/273359918693) Edited August 30, 2019 by Rusty Greaves inclusion of some additional costume information Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Greaves Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 (edited) I had a discussion with a friend who feels that the last photo of a man wearing the 4th Class Knight Order of Ismail and other awards with his Royal Guard uniform in my most recent post of 29 August 2019 is not a younger version of Osman El Mahdi Pasha. The 3rd individual from the left on the couch in the Life photo (2nd-to-last photo in my 29 August post), probably from 1944, was identified by a contributor to Zeinab Mohamed's Flickr photostream (not by Hassan Kamel-Kelisi-Moralias as I originally posted, but by Mohammad Ahmed) as Osman El Mahdi Pasha. My friend does accept this identification in the Life photo. My friend's objection is that the eBay photo is probably not the same the man as seen on the couch seated next to Omar Fathi Pasha. His objection is that El Mahdi would not have been invested with the kinds of awards shown in the eBay photo at such a potentially younger age as the man in this image appears to be. He also is uncertain whether El Mahdi was in the Royal Guard at that age as well. One reason I feel this may be the same person is that the Life images shows a 4th Class, Knight, Order of Ismail, a 4th Class, Officer, Order of the Nile), and apparently the medal and ribbon for the Italian Order of the Crown, although most of the other medals are very difficult to distinguish. I still think there is a fair facial similarity, and the greater number of medals in the Life photo still suggests to me an image of the same man as in the eBay photo, just at a later age with additional awards. Does anyone in the GMIC community have any additional information about Osman El Mahdi Pasha that is relevant to this question? For comparison, below is an enlargement of the individual in the Life image (however, this still is not a high resolution image) shown in the 2nd to last in my most recent post on this thread (of 29 August, 2019) seated 3rd from the left that is identified as Osman El Mahdi Pasha. (Cropped image of Osman El Mahdi Pasha from an image by Life, archived on Zeinab Mohamed's Flickr photostream: https://www.flickr.com/photos/96884693@N00/3086912058/) Edited September 4, 2019 by Rusty Greaves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now