drclaw

The UBS catalogue would have to be the most useful single resource around. All colour photos, extensive descriptions in German and English, and weighs more than two telephone directories.

I'm eternally grateful to Paul Wood at Morton & Eden for mine - he gave me his last spare copy. You might be lucky finding one on ebay.

Order of the Striped Tiger

"Later... You mean "after 1929" tigers? Numbered ones?" The Tigers weren't numbered and ceased being awarded after 1929 after the Nationalists took control of the central government.

The early 1st Class insignia were awarded with a red/yellow sash. This later changed to a light green/yellow sash, similar to the Second Class. I'm not entirely sure when this change occurred however without having more access to award documentation.

I might be generalising here, but the tigers of these earlier insignia have a more natural, "powerful" appearance and darker, more natural colours.

The tigers of later insignia appear more "kittenish" (to borrow a phrase from Richard) with the coat painted in an almost lemony yellow.

The earlier tigers tend to fetch higher prices than the later tigers. This could well be a function of comparative rarity and aesthetics with collectors preferring the design of the earlier tigers.

Order of the Golden Grain

According to the Tammann catalogue, the Order of the Golden Grain also comprised early (1912 to circa 1916 or 1917) and later (circa 1916 or 1917 to 1929) period insignia, with the early or 1st Type insignia characterised by higher quality cloisonne enamel.

Lao Tian Di was one of the makers of these early insignia. Later insignia were mostly made by the Beijing Mint and stamped with the square "Made by Silver Bureau" mint mark.

Looking at the examples in the Tammann catalogue, the difference in the quality is very noticeable. The wheat stalks and leaves of the First Type insignia are crisply rendered with the metal lines of the cloisonne sharply defined. The filaments on the wheat heads are longer and finer, and the green leaves slender and flowing.

This could well be a function of who happened to be making the insignia at the time. It's seems logical that insignia made in the early years of the Republic could well have been made by the same master craftsmen who once worked in the Imperial cloisonne workshops, whereas by the mid-1920s some of these original craftsmen might no longer be active (whether in Lao Tian Di or elsewhere).

Also the shift in manufacturing from a workshop founded by master craftsmen like Lao Tian Di to, and I use the term cautiously here, a more mass-production oriented government mint, might also result in a decline in individual quality.

Of course, many of these arguments are my own theories only, founded on nothing more than by observing examples sold at auction!

Here's a study on Lao Tian Di from an excellent website on Chinese and Japanese cloissone:

http://www.idcloisonne.com/archivedcloisonnestudies/id8.html

Interestingly, the study also references work by Paul Kua on the Order of the White Eagle published in the OMSA (also available on his website). http://www.medals.bravehost.com/earlyA01.htm#_ftn23

The Lao Tian Di study is a nice example of how our hobby can transcend medal collecting to link with recognised fields of art, in this case Chinese ceramics.

We've always known that our shiny baubles are works of art (the Persian Lion and Sun are a case in point), but it's nice when other artistic fields think so too!

Thanks for posting this discussion, Nick. Very interesting indeed!

I've been collecting some information on the Order of the Striped Tiger (awarded 1912-1928) with Richard's help.

I've just acquired a Striped Tiger made by the famous Qing Dynasty / early Republic Beijing cloisonne workshop Lau Tian Di. The reverse of the neck badge is stamped with the Mandarin inscription "Chinese Republic, 8th year [i.e. 1917]" and a square hallmark with four characters "Lao Tian Di Zhi" (lit. Old Heaven Advantage / Benefit Manufacture).

Interestingly, the 2008 UBS Tammann Collection auction catalogue notes that Sun Yat Sen / Nationalist Government in Guandong also began awarding the Striped Tiger, with the enamels of the Guandong awards of poorer quality and more prone to "enamel pest" than the Central Government awards.

The catalogue also notes Lao Tian Di Zhi as one of the known suppliers to the Nationalist Guandong Government.

Most of the Lao Tian Di awards I've seen in pictures have been of the highest quality, which is not surprising given the workshop was founded by ex-Imperial cloisonne master craftsmen. Economic decline in the late 19th century forced the Court to stop funding the imperial workshops, which led to the craftsmen to starting their own establishments to make a living.

If, however, the Tammann catalogue is correct and Lao Tian Di supplied Orders to the Guandong Government we have a fascinating situation. Not only did the Guandong Government (essentially, another provincial Warlord until the successful Northern Expedition) issue the same awards as the internationally recognised central government, they were being supplied by the same manufacturer!

Later Striped Tigers were mostly manufactured by the Beijing Mint, I believe.

Thanks James, I think we have the definitive history here of the two Orders, one that finally cuts through the errors and confusion of the different sources.

I've certainly learnt the importance of always referring back to the original name of the Order in the language of the country. While this is a challenge for non-speakers, it also avoids the compounding errors of translations (whether in English or French).

Your reference to Nishan-i-Khurshid, with Khurshid as the word for sun with a male face, highlights how even small nuances can convey important differences in meaning.

I'd be keen to track down a copy of your 2007 article. Was it published by OMSA or OMRS?

Gavin

The Encyclopedia Iranica states that the Order of the Sun was introduced by Naser-al-Din Shah (1848-96), which would make the Sun a subsequent Order to the Lion and the Sun:

"Nāṣer-al-Dīn Shah (1264-1313/1848-96) increased the repertoire of honors to include the Temṯāl-e Amīr-al-Moʾmenīn (referring to Imam ʿAlī and bearing his image; Plate XVII.a), which was reserved for the shah; the Sun (Āftāb) for royal women; and the Royal portrait (Temṯāl-e homāyūn)."

Whether there were two separate Orders is discussed in detail in Sir Denis Wright's article "Sir John Malcolm and the Order of the Lion and Sun" (Iran, vol.17 (1979), 135-141:

"According to Malcolm's biographer, J. W. Kaye, the Shah, having tried unsuccessfully at this audience to persuade Malcolm to remain in Persia, sent his Prime Minister the following day to tell Malcolm that His Majesty desired to bestow on him " some public and enduring mark of royal favour " and that, in addition to making him a Khan the Shah had decided that:

a decoration, similar to that which had been granted to General Gardane, should be bestowed on Malcolm. The Frenchman had been made a Knight of the Sun; but the Englishman now declared that it would be unloyal and unbecoming on his part to accept a title which had been instituted for the benefit of an enemy. This decision created some disappointment, and led to considerable controversy. The King proposed also to make Malcolm a Sepahdar, or General in the Persian Service. This honor was cheerfully accepted, and the General said that the King might send him a horse and sword to support his new dignity. But Futteh Ali said that he gave swords to people of all kinds, and that he desired to mark his especial sense of his affection for Malcolm. It was suggested, therefore, that a new order should be instituted, and a new star fabricated for the purpose, by the court jeweller. There was to be a Lion couchant, and a Sun rising on his back; and the order was to be the Order of the Lion and Sun. The distinction was pressed so earnestly upon Malcolm that he could no longer refuse it. And many brave men since that day have proudly written K.L.S. after their names.

"Some two weeks later, on 15 July, Malcolm was granted a farewell audience by the Shah at Oujan.

"Kaye tells us that on this occasion Malcolm

was met at the entrance of the audience-tent with a firman, or royal mandate appointing him a Khan and Sepahdar (a nobleman and general) of the Persian Empire. With these new titles he was introduced to the King, who welcomed him with becoming cordiality. The gentlemen of the Mission were also introduced in their dresses of honor; and then the King, desiring Malcolm to approach the throne, invested him with a diamond star, in the centre of which were the Lion and the Sun, the insignia of the new order of knighthood.

"Malcolm himself subsequently claimed that the Shah had insisted on honouring him and that the Order of the Lion and Sun had been created for this purpose. Since that time Malcolm's name has been firmly associated with the origin of an Order which thereafter was bestowed by a succession of Qajar Shahs on Persians and foreigners alike. The latter, though they sometimes referred to it irreverently as the Order of the Liar and Son,6 coveted it greatly. There is no doubt that Malcolm was the first Briton to receive this particular decoration, yet he has probably been given more credit than his due for its origin. There is also strong evidence that he solicited the honour rather than had it pressed upon him.

"L. Brasier and J. L. Brunet, the French authors of the only publication devoted exclusively to Persian Orders of chivalry, Les Ordres Persanes (Paris 1902), also treat the two Orders as identical. They state that Fath 'Ali Shah instituted the Order of the Sun in 18o8 (though Gardane received his in December 1807) and that he subsequently renamed it the Lion and Sun in order to add to its prestige. They record that Gardane and members of his staff held this second decoration. At the exhibition of Orders and Decorations organized by the Administration des Monnaies et Medailles de Paris in 1956, Talleyrand's decoration was catalogued as that of the Sun and Lion; it is similarly labelled at the Chateau de Valenay, Talleyrand's old home, where his badge and star can still be seen. It would seem therefore that in French minds there is no real distinction between the two Orders, despite one French account to the contrary. This occurs in a book by Gaspard Drouville, a French soldier of fortune attached to the British military mission to Persia in 1812-13. Drouville states that the two Orders existed side-by-side and that it was only when the British envoy refused the Sun that the Lion and Sun, hitherto restricted to Persian officers, was offered instead. If this were true one might well ask why nothing further is heard of any Order of the Sun-at least until 1873 when Nasir al-Din Shah, on the eve of his first European tour, instituted a new Order of the Sun (but with dftdb replacing khifrshid as the word for sun). This was exclusively for ladies, particularly royal ladies, Queen Victoria being one of the first to be so honoured. On this the sun is represented by the full face of a young female beauty with joining eyebrows, a particular Persian attribute of female pulchritude."

"Wellesley, like Malcolm, accepted the honour. Why Jones should have declined it in 1811 is not clear, unless despite the change of name, he regarded it as the same Order which he had refused in 1809. Also, being very conscious of his superior position as the Crown's representative, he may have felt it beneath his dignity to accept a decoration already bestowed on Malcolm. In addition, he may have been influenced by his materialistic streak."

Wright's article includes a photograph of the Sun insignia awarded to Queen Victoria in 1873 by Nasir al-Din Shah.

It would appear safe to conclude that there were two separate Orders, with the Order of the Sun continuing to be conferred at least until 1873.

What is unclear is:

1) When the different Orders were created?

Order of the Sun - Brasier and Brunet considers 1808, but General Gardane received his in Dec 1807; Encyclopedia Iranica considers it was created by Nasir al-Din Shah after 1848

Order of the Lion and Sun - Malcolm argues it was created specifically for him in 1810. However Drouville contends that the two Orders existed side by side, with the Lion and Sun hitherto restricted to Persian officers.

2) Whether the Sun was restricted to women.

The Encyclopedia Iranica considers that it was Aftab was limited to royal women. This would support the fact that Queen Victoria was awarded with the Order of the Sun, not the Order of the Lion and Sun.

But if the Sun was the Order awarded to General Gardane, then it clearly was not limited to women. However, it might have been subsequently restricted to women by Nasir al-Din Shah. There is also the possibility that the Aftab and the "original" Order of the Sun were two different Orders.

I think the answer might lie in Volume 1 No. 9 (Dec 1950) of the OMSA Journal, articled titled "The Chang Tso Lin Order".

Unfortunately, only the newer issues of OMSA are available for sale as back issues but Steve at OMSA has very kindly offered to help me track down a copy of the article.

Nick, would you know of any other published references to the Order in the meantime? I've seen it variously referred to as 'Military Merit Order', 'Medal for Extreme Bravery' or 'Chang Tso Lin Order' in different auction catalogues, but only in the briefest of references.

Gavin

Thanks for sharing Lorenzo!

I've become a real fan of old military history photos and have been picking up a couple of old Wire Press photos on ebay. They're not the "original" photos as such but are fascinating nonetheless. Most of them have interesting captions on the reverse that were made at the time the original photos were transmitted.

Our shiny baubles represent far better value for money.

A few months ago, I wandered into a store famous for its pink diamonds. The jaw hit the floor in shock at the prices. $30,000 for something you have to squint very hard just to be able to see.

Imagine how much bling WE could buy for that :lol:

The 1920 Haiyuan Earthquake

The earthquake occurred on 16 December 1920 and ranks as the 8th deadliest natural disaster in human history, killing around 240,000 people.

The epicentre was in Haiyuan County, Ninxia Province. The event is also known as the 1920 Gansu earthquake (Ningxia was a part of Gansu Province when the earthquake occurred). The earthquake hit at 8.06 pm local time and was reportedly 7.8 on the Richter scale. It was followed by a series of aftershocks for three years.

Over 73,000 people were killed in Haiyuan County and more than 30,000 in Guyuan County. Damage occurred in 7 provinces and regions, including the major cities of Taiyuan (capital of Shanxi Province), Lanzhou, Xian, Xining and Yinchuan.

(source: Wikipedia)

Hey thanks for that Nick!

Yan Xishan was certainly one of the great survivors, outlasting the fall of the Qing, the Yuan Shikai period, the Warlord era, the Northern Expedition and the Chinese Civil War. It was only when the Nationalists lost mainland China that he lost control of Shanxi.

Yan was a reformer for his time (an enlightened despot), building schools, stamping out foot binding and promoting education for women. He maintained an efficient military system that relied heavily on reservists so maintained a sizeable "standing" army at only a portion of the cost of other warlords.

Together with Feng Yuxiang (the Christian Warlord), Yan joined the Northern Expedition bandwagon, and then led a revolt against Chiang Kai Shek's Nationalist government. Yan and Feng were defeated but Yan managed to retain his province.

I will need to do more digging but it would be interesting to learn what catastrophe struck Shanxi in 1920 such as to merit a special Medal for donations.

Here are two more photos of Yan - in 1947, and in 1950 (presumably in Taiwan).

Gavin

Yeah, digital photos are certainly the most affordable.

I've just purchased some old Wire / Press photos on ebay at quite reasonable prices. These aren't the original photograph as such but still "historical" in that they were transmitted and used at the time. They're on thinner quality paper and fade faster than normal photographs though.

Hi Nick,

Great photos! Would you know if there are any websites that have these photos or reprits available for sale?

I ask as I've just started collecting photos (original or modern reprints) of gents in bling for the very same reason. So far, all I've managed to track down are crowned heads of state.

I've also tried going through the websites of major photo houses like Getty images but am struggling with their interfaces. Very easy to search for the latest pics of Obama. Much harder to track down historical photographs.

Gavin

"I had one dealer in Iraq asking to purchase my First Class for $4500.00 I passed; cause like Ed Haynes says I could never sell my babies!!"

I reckon that goes for most of us on GMIC, Lorenzo.

I, for one, intend to be entombed with my shiny baubles ... together with my concubines, eunuchs and hunting dogs ...

Thanks for this information James. Absolutely fascinating and the mind boggles at the thought of a $75,000 "collectors' copy".

A salutary lesson about needing to know your subject area well.

Thanks for posting this Owain. Always fascinating to learn about the life of the individual behind the Order.

It reminds you that these weren't just pretty trinklets awarded to officials for long service or visiting VIPs. They were, in many cases awarded to brave and courageous individuals who really did make a contribution to the world around them.

Gavin

PS. I'm still looking for those elusive Libya Kingdom Orders ... Maybe one day ...

Very nice collection Swoop. As Markus mentioned in the other thread, these do appear from time to time at auctions.

If you're not in a rush, auction season kicks off in March / April. I recall Lorenzo mentioning that prices for the Two Rivers were selling for astronomical prices in Baghdad ($10,000 for 1st Class sets which are selling for just over 1000 pounds / euros at auctions in Europe excluding 20-25% buyer's commission).

So you haven't really 'missed' anything!

Gavin

Here is a link to the full online Encyclopaedia Iranica article on Persian decorations that the Qajar article draws from.

It's about as comprehensive a study on any ODM as can be found.

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/decorations

Thanks for posting this Chris. Interesting stuff which just shows that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

With one exception - Nasser didn't have Facebook in 1952 ...

Emmanuel and Nick, thanks for that detailed information on the swan marking and other French marks. I've saved it in a Word document for future reference.

The swan mark appears to have been used after 1893 until the 60s or 70s.

I've found these references on another forum:

A Guide to Old French Plate' by Louis Carre is;

"The decree of June 29, 1893, discontinued the use of the 'ET' mark which had been created on January 13, 1864, for marking plate coming from countries without customs conventions, and replaced it by an 'owl' in an oval frame for gold and a 'swan' for silver. This reform had been rendered necessary by the Customs Law of January 11, 1892, which stipulated that all imported gold and silver plate should comply with the same conditions as plate manufactured in France"

Tardy's "International Hallmarks on Silver":

"The 'Swan' mark has been used since 1st July, 1893 on watch cases of all origins and up to 1970 it was struck on articles coming from non-contracting countries. In addition it is struck on silverware of the legal standard of fineness, but of unknown origin, which is sold at public auctions."

Here's a link to a very useful site with images of silver hallmarks for France and other countries.

http://www.silvercollection.it/Frenchhallmarks.html

A Chinese Order of the Double Dragon sold in the same Hermann Historica auction had a swan mark on the reverse pin. Craftsmanship was superb, clearly European, but NOT French given the mark. It was a Second Type Double Dragon from the period around 1902-1911.

Finding a swan mark certainly makes for entertainment, like one of those frustrating logic puzzles. It tells you it ISN'T French, but NOT what it is.

It tells you that it was imported into France or sold at a French auction between 1893 and the 1970s (but NOT when it was manufactured or where it was imported from)!

Gavin

Thanks for posting these images Markus

That Herman Historica lion was a beauty and Russian examples appear only rarely from what I've seen.

I wonder if it had any maker marks on the reverse?

Rich, Paul, Nick and Dieter,

This is a very informative discussion so thank you for all your efforts. It's certainly appreciated!

There was a very interesting Pillars of the State, 2nd Class if I recall, on sale earlier this year at a European auction house's site (I won't name the auction house or include a link). The case was in superb condition. Unfortunately, the red enamel of the medals were heavily pitted that they appeared to be a sea of white spots.

It was such a shame that a rare and beautiful Order could have been so affected by the vagaries of time and ... I wonder ... poor manufacturing. Is this a problem to watch out for with Pillars? I ask because often the quality of the photos on YJA might not make such faults obvious. Would this support the theory of poorer quality late war manufacturing?

Happy New Year to all!

Gavin

Congratulations on your recent acquisitions Jen and Markus!

Absolutely stunning and superb examples of the jewellers' craft. The prices of these also seem to be going up and up.

Gavin

Dear Avsar and Dean,

Thanks for a very interesting and helpful discussion! The crescent and star suspension amalgam is not something I'd noted before. But I'd be sure to watch out for it in the future. Just goes to show that you never stop learning.

Happy New Year to all for 2012!

Gavin

"I think it is for a food function?" Or modesty pageant

Sent you a message to your iraqimilitaria email account on something that'll have your heart jumping. Check it out!

Wow! Congratulations on your newest additions. The Faiz Allah is particularly attractive and rare. This is the first example I've seen.

It matches the craftsmanship of the European pieces. The later Persian examples are poorer cousins unfortunately.

Some of the names on the list of makers certainly raise an eyebrow although we shouldn't be surprised. Persia was front and centre of the Great Game and would have received its fair share of European visitors. What is unusual is the absence of any British makers given Britain was one of the key players.

Ohmigosh, what an interesting thread! I can't add anything of value but have been following this closely.

It would be a real revelation if there were more than one mint (Osaka Mint) producing these!