drclaw

Thanks for sharing these Lars. We don't see many miniatures of the Double Dragons.

Interestingly, the first example is of a 2nd Type but the manufacturer has used diamond cut rays for the star.

These are beauties. A cased First Class Third Grade is very, very rare and the insignia look like in perfect condition.

The Third Class Bacqueville BREAST star is also an interesting piece and follows on from Kimkan's observations that some recipients commissioned Third Class insignia from European manufacturers to be worn as a star, not a neck badge as standard. Note the green enamel variation too.

Thanks Kimkan and Nick for the photos.

Thanks for the info and images Paul and Nick. It certainly is a beauty and shares some design elements with the "Bao Xing" medals that were the precursor to the Double Dragons.

Let's see what this goes for.

A Second Class set from the same auction. Notice the difference in shape of the presentation cases for the First and Second Class. '

The badge and star look like Lao Tian Li manufacture.

A rare First Class set. Image from Hong Kong Poly Auctions.

Pity about the worn case and chipped enamel on the sash badge. Any guesses on the manufacturer?

Here's an exquisite cased First Class and Second Class set to be auctioned in Hong Kong. Images from Poly Auctions.

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_04_2014/post-11630-0-50624200-1396649723.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_04_2014/post-11630-0-86017300-1396649744.jpg

No, in my current impecunious state, prices would have been purely academic

Besides, as we know with Chinese items, the final price can be double, triple the estimate prices.

Thanks Markus, here's something that particularly caught my eye from a research / historical basis. Original hand coloured illustrations of the First Type Double Dragon.

And the very rare Second Type First Class Second Grade Double Dragon. The last time one appeared on the market I believe was in 2008.

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_04_2014/post-11630-0-05894300-1396647521.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_04_2014/post-11630-0-27503600-1396647590.jpg

Here's the English language link. Hong Kong Poly Auction.

http://www.polyauction.com.hk/catalog/upcominginner.php?id=77

JCwater has provided me a link to a Hong Kong auction which has the most exquisite collection of Chinese and Manchukuo orders offered since the 2008 Tammann auction sale.

Some of the items on sale:

* Second Type First Class Second Grade Double Dragon

* Manchukuo Order of the Orchid Blossom breast star

* Manchukuo Order of the Illustrious Dragon cased set

* TWO cased First Class Nanking Puppet Government Orders of National Glory

* an exquisite Godet Double Dragon 2nd Class breast star

I haven't been able to download the images as it has a magnifying glass function. But enjoy the images while they're still there.

Chinese orders start on page 1. Shuffle forward a few pages to the Manchukuo orders.

http://auction.artron.net/BLHK-1527/PMH204764/PZ2019008/

Very interesting photo! Thanks for posting.

Would you have a possible date and caption for the photo? The dark blue (Winter) or light khaki (Summer) Western style uniforms weren't introduced until 1910.

Yup, straight from the original Decree. I think the confusion arose in some of the subsequent literature.

The Striped Tiger, Golden Grain, White Eagle, Precious Brilliant Golden Grain follow the usual categories: 1st Class, 2nd Class, 3rd Class, etc, although confusingly the Golden Grain has a 2nd Class Cordon award and 2nd Class without the Cordon.

Nope, it's a Second Class. From post #81.

-----

The Order was conferred in six classes for meritorious service to the Republic:

· Grand Class (Da Xun Wei, 大勋位);

· First Class (Xun Yi Wei, 勋一位);

· Second Class (Xun Er Wei, 勋二位);

· Third Class (Xun San Wei, 勋三位);

· Fourth Class (Xun Si Wei, 勋四位); and

· Fifth Class (Xun Wu Wei, 勋五位)

The insignia was virtually identical to the earlier Imperial Nobility Badge with some minor but symbolic differences. The color of the center medallion was changed from yellow (representing the Emperor) to red (representing the majority Han Chinese).

The badge was gilded silver and all the stones pearls. The classes were differentiated by the total number of pearls including the center pearl stone: Grand Cordon (13 pearls), First Class (11 pearls), Second Class (9 pearls), Third Class (7 pearls), Fourth Class (5 pearls) and Fifth Class (3 pearls).

In case anyone's missed it, here's a link to the topic in the Northern European section.

We're still searching for evidence that it was Munthe who helped design some of the orders of the Early Republic 1912-28.

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/57887-general-munthe-adventurer-art-collector-chinese-medal-designer/#entry585207

For an extraordinary image (among others) of Munthe's original Republican plumed kepi, see Vikingcommander's great website.

There wouldn't be more than a handful of these hats left in the world I'd wager.

http://www.pbase.com/vikingspirit/general_munthe_200132228323559365573394529305

Front and reverse of a badge sold on Yahoo Japan for 2.3 million yen which is approx USD 22,000 or GBD 13,600.

Personally, I think it would have easily sold for double that if it had appeared at one of the London auction sales.

It is a Second Class (9 pearls in total including the centre pearl). If awarded between 1912-16, it would have been accompanied by a title of nobility of Marquis - Bing hou qin (丙 侯亲) or Hou

Thanks Rich for spotting this.

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_03_2014/post-11630-0-63784600-1395610733.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_03_2014/post-11630-0-69395300-1395610742.jpg

That is a real beauty and extraordinarily rare. Given its location in Japan, you could also assume it is in as pristine a condition as the photo suggests.

I've written a long article on the Order of Rank and Merit which begins with the near identical Imperial Nobility Badge introduced by the Qing government in 1909. It also covers the Republican Nobility Badge. It draws upon Nick's excellent thread and the contributions of other members.

It's been submitted to OMSA so watch this space.

Thanks for the great link Vikingcommander.

Plenty of extraordinary images there. The Museum has Munthe's original Chinese Republic dress uniform plumed hat. I'd wager there wouldn't be more than a handful of these left in the world. Do you know if the Museum also has his decorations? I believe he also received the Double Dragon.

You can also see the Order of the Golden Grain in the portrait above.

Great thread Nick

Letters from Iwo Jima is one of my favourite war films. Beautifully made with a lot of humanity and soul. I really wanted to like 'Flags of Our Fathers' but I found it an incredibly disjointed film in the way it constantly flicked backwards and forwards in time.

The phaleristic errors are very minor compared to some of the outright fantasies you see in Chinese / Hong Kong war films. The medals on Yuan Shikai's chest in '1911' (another disjointed, disappointing film) looked like they came from a box of Christmas decorations.

Thanks for sharing this, Kimkan.

The smaller size is certainly fascinating as is the attractive, green centre stone. Have you encountered other similarly sized Third Class badges?

Reduced Second Class breast stars do occasionally appear. The theory that the smaller badges may have been bestowed on women is a valid one.

Very nice Nick!

By the way, how do you store your documents?

Other than photos from the Chinese Warlord period, the only document I have is a very old, very large handwritten mortgage agreement on waxed vellum paper. Nothing military other than the date - 1812

Thanks for sharing this. It's a beautiful piece indeed. I've only ever seen the Bacqueville 2nd Class.

The star corpus is also what I've theorised to be the Early Second Type variation. Each point is composed of five groups of three rays, as opposed to three groups of three rays which is the most often encountered.

A nicely made medal. For a private (Red Cross) issue, the quality exceeds many of the official / government awards.

750,000 yen is a lot for a chipped Third Class. Even for a pristine Third Class. No wonder it's still Buy It Now on YJA.

That's a beauty. Does the green grass enamel look chipped to you? At the 6 o'clock position under the tiger's feet?

Yed, thanks for the lovely photos.

As Paul mentions, that First Type First Class First Grade Double Dragon is superb. It appears from the photo to be completely gold with no enamel work. Would I be correct in saying that?

It is probably one of only a handful in the world, certainly the only one I know of. Note the large pearl (the Second and Third Grade were coral stones).

That little gold badge could well be worth as much as the rest of the collection put together.