Rusty Greaves

A very lovely and apparently genuine complete set of the Grand Cordon of this award with sash, chest star, and badge (apparently with the presentation case) is currently listed on a Spink & Son auction as lot 28. https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-us/auction-catalogues/spink/catalogue-id-srspi10156/lot-3b07acb4-542f-4733-93a3-a83200b99892 The expected estimate for bids is ~2500-3000 GBP. It is mistakenly called the "Knight Grand Cross" on the auction listing. One obvious fake identified as an Order of Ismail is also shown in this auction, lot 140 (https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-us/auction-catalogues/spink/catalogue-id-srspi10156/lot-bd1c4e4c-7dc1-4560-a3c7-a83200ba36e7). This is clearly a recent and awkward attempt at presenting something with a few elements reminiscent of the star. However, the silver metal, lack of any enamel, a central "jewel" rather than enameled central boss with cipher, oversized crown, and the configuration of what is usually a neck star as a chest badge suspended on a ribbon is a very-ham-handed and ugly piece of junk. Another lot, 267 (https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-us/auction-catalogues/spink/catalogue-id-srspi10156/lot-bb1a7884-22e6-4504-97db-a83200bb0ca9), illustrates two alleged Order of Ismail medals that have highly problematic elements I think clearly identify them as false pieces. The star in this lot, also incorrectly suspended on a ribbon for the chest, has dramatic problems in its proportions (star too small & crown too large), and very poor workmanship shown in the enamel of the star's rays, no enamel coloring of the wreath around the central boss, a "gold" center with incorrect enamel distribution, an awkwardly rendered cipher, and no enamel colors on the crown, etc. The chest badge also exhibits significant design flaws. The star appears to be made of a silver metal rather than gold, the overall workmanship is quite poor, the central cipher lack details apparent in all genuine examples, the ball finials on each arm are flat and broad rather than more finely executed, the suspension for a ribbon (only used for the 4th Class Officer version-but with a rosette on the ribbon) lacks the Khedive crown, and the suspension ring also is made of silver, rather than gold. Both lot 140 and 267 have very low anticipated prices, suggesting some awareness these are suspect pieces.

An example of this badge is currently listed as lot 32 on an an-online auction by Spink & Sons: https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-us/auction-catalogues/spink/catalogue-id-srspi10156/lot-63685e70-7557-48b1-aabf-a83200b99d8c The badge is a bit dirty, has a pawnbroker's mark on the reverse, and it is unclear if this is a silver gilt badge or a worn example of one of the gold gilt badges. The distribution of the gold on the photo could be tarnish or worn gold gilt aspects of the design. Estimated bidding for their badge is anticipated to be between 100-200 GBP

I think the illustrations from Condecoraciones de Venezuela of the 2nd Class chest badge, miniature cross and bar with rosette in a presentation was shown in my previous post above (http://condecoracionesdevenezuela.com/militares-cruz-del-ejercito/) may represent an example that is not authentic. The interiors of the "rosettes" on the ribbon for the miniature cross and bar in that image appear more like croquetted knots than standard rosettes seen in most ribbons (also see examples below). Probably a genuine example of the chest badge, miniature cross, and rosette in presentation case of the 2nd Class Cruz del Ejercito Venezolano. Note the rosette without a bar, in contrast with the image on wikipedia and in some other examples that may or may not be authentic. This example was made by Huguenin of La Locle, Switzerland which was represented in Caracas by Graaven who manufactured commemorative medals and insignia for awards al in 18 k gold from ~1930-1960. They are a known manufacturer of this award. This is from a Russian language website that has collected images from other unidentified sources. http://wawards.org/oldsite/america/ven/12/medal.html bar for the 1st Class Cruz del Ejercito Venezolano illustrated on Wikipedia. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruz_de_las_Fuerzas_Terrestres Possible authentic bar with rosette for the Cruz del Ejercito Venezolano from Wikipedia. Note the difference between the bar & rosette and the isolated rosette in the example made by Huguenin/Graaven https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruz_de_las_Fuerzas_Terrestres Schematic illustrations of the bar for the 3rd Class Crus del Ejercito from a Wikipedia illustration https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruz_de_las_Fuerzas_Terrestres

The signature is the well-known "Massonnet . Edit .", the 19th-early 20th century French medal editeur. I wrote that: The second word in the inscription may be "1917"? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha...similar to " . EDIT . ", but not quite.

Below are images of the Venezuelan Cross of the Army, Cruz del Ejercito Venezolano, from a website about Venezuelan military and civilian awards (http://condecoracionesdevenezuela.com/militares-cruz-del-ejercito/) Additional website images can also be seen at the auction site Medal-Medaille http://www.medal-medaille.com/sold/product_info.php?products_id=1769 Full set showing obverse & reverse of the neck badge on its ribbon; miniature cross, and ribbon bar of the 1st Class Cruz del Ejercito Venezolano Neck badge; miniature cross, and ribbon bar of the 1st Class Cruz del Ejercito Venezolano in presentation case Close-up showing the inscriptions and laurel wreaths of the obverse central boss (L) and reverse central boss (R) of the Cruz del Ejercito Venezolano. The obverse wreath has green enamel and the inscription "HONOR AL MERITO" (Honor to Merit-perhaps meaning "Honor to achieve Merit") The reverse has the cast wreath without enamel fill and the inscription "CRUZ DEL EJERCITO VENEZOLANO" (Cross of the Venezuelan Army). This is the same design for all classes of this award. Chest badge, miniature cross, and ribbon bar of the 2nd Class Cruz del Ejercito Venezolano in presentation case Obverse & reverse images of the chest badge of the 3rd Class Cruz del Ejercito Venezolano. Note the reverse inscription "FUERZAS TERRESTRES VENEZOLANAS" (Venezuelan Ground Forces) rather than the "CRUZ DEL EJERCITO VENEZOLANO". The different reverse inscription may be an earlier version name for this award. Obverse & reverse images of the miniature cross of the 3rd Class Cruz del Ejercito Venezolano. Note that this example has the "CRUZ DEL EJERCITO VENEZOLANO" on the reverse, not "FUERZAS TERRESTRES VENEZOLANAS"

I would like to illustrate a couple of the possible commission documents for the earliest period of the US Dept of State Special Agents' Division relevant to my post of March 25, 2017 summarizing some of my current research on this badge. These images were sent to me by a collector, and I have mentioned them in the March 25 post. Additional correspondence with other collectors of US Federal badges and individuals serving with the Diplomatic service indicate that it is very common, both historically and currently, for there to be mismatches between authentic commission documents for agents and the badges used by them. Apparently, the only exception is the US Customs service. This still does not resolve how thorough any past destruction of previously issued badges for the US Dept of State Special Agents' Division may have been, or whether they continued to be used with updated commission documents that appear to have been renewed with each appointment of new Secretaries of State. I am especially interested in these credentials for Robert S, Sharp, the first Special Agent in charge of the New York Office of the US Dept of State Special Agent's Division who was appointed in 1917 or 1918. This office was set up by the first Chief Special Agent of the US Dept of State Joseph M. “Bill” Nye during the term of Secretary of State Robert Lansing. This was approximately contemporaneous with the establishment of their first office in Washington, D.C. The New York office interests me as this is the likely location where the agent who was assigned badge #12 worked from, given the source of this badge. Credentials (commission document?) for Robert S. Sharp (the first Special Agent in charge of the New York office of the US Dept of State Special Agents’ Division, 1917 or 18 though ?), 1920, signed by Joseph M. Nye (the first Chief Special Agent, 1917-20) and Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby (1920-21). Higher resolution image of the signature page for Robert S. Sharp’s 1920 credentials. Credentials (commission document?) for Robert S. Sharp (the first Special Agent in charge of the New York office of the US Dept of State Special Agents’ Division), 1925, signed by Robert C. Bannerman (the second Chief Special Agent 1920-40) and Secretary of State Frank Billings Kellogg (1925-29). Cover of Robert S. Sharp’s credentials from 1925

Does the miniature match either of the illustrations on the condecoracionesdevenezuela.com website for the 1st Class award (with an additional even smaller cross on the ribbon) or the 2nd Class medal (with a rosette on the ribbon)? I can't tell the dimensions of the 3rd Class cross from the descriptions or photos or whether it has a miniature. Below is my translation of the descriptive Spanish text on the http://condecoracionesdevenezuela.com/militares-cruz-del-ejercito/ website for the Cruz del Ejercito. I have inserted a few italicized statements with my initials to clarify parts of the translation as well as a couple of notes, and observations from the illustrations on the website. In the Spanish phaleristics terminology (not my forte, and I apologize for some awkwardness in the translation, but some ambiguity may be inherent in the original text) the term venera appears to apply to the general form of the medal that I am glossing as "insignia", in the case of this award it has the same meaning as cruz (cross) or joya (jewel or jewels - that I am glossing as the physical medal) in the text; placa means a badge. The possible origin date of 8 December 1952 (see note in translation below) is interesting as it would be only a bit more than a week after the 30 November, 1952 elections which were a long delayed by the junta and appointed president Marcos Perez Jimenez after the coup of 1948, and only held in response to domestic and international pressure. The ruling party realized that they were losing the election and announced fraudulent results indicating their win on 2 December, 1952. The ruling junta resigned, handing power to the military who then appointed Perez Jimenez president (who had the sole authority to award the Cruz del Ejercito, the highest Army award). Translation: Cruz del Ejercito (Cross of the Army) The decoration “CRUZ DE LAS FUERZAS TERRESTRES VENEZOLANAS” was created under decree No. 418 on 23 of June, 1952 [in the gallery of the website the creation date is identified as 8, December, 1952-RG], by the Government Junta of the United States of Venezuela, and was created to award distinguished service rendered to the Ground Forces (Army) of Venezuela. This is the most important decoration of the army and comprised 3 classes. The President of the Republic, in his role as Chief of the Order, had the exclusive authority to confer the decoration, an act approved by the Ministry of Defense, previously voted on in favor of by the Council of the Order. The medal of the decoration, initially issued in 18 carat gold, has the form of a Maltese cross with arms 27 mm in length enameled in scarlet red. The central portion bears a circle 18 mm in diameter bordered by a laurel wreath that is 2 mm thick and enameled in green. The obverse of the circle’s interior is gilt with the inscription “HONOR AL MERITO” in tall relief in circular form. The reverse of the decoration has the same form as the obverse, however with a plain gilt surface and carries in the center a laurel wreath [apparently without enamel-RG] and the inscription ”FUERZAS TERRESTRES VENEZOLANAS” in high relief in circular form [note that most illustrated examples bear the inscription “CRUZ DEL EJERCITO VENEZOLANO-RG]” on the reverse. The ribbon is of silk moiré in fire yellow with borders of scarlet red. The medals of this Order, like those of similar crosses of other awards, were created in parallel [at the same time-RG] governed by a strict similarity in their regulated [form-RG] and although each possessed its own design, its presentations and component parts are identical. 1st Class: insignia worn on a neck collar, 2nd Class: insignia worn on the chest, and 3rd Class: insignia worn pinned to a ribbon. It is evident that the appearance of these four [sic-3?-RG) break with the classical scheme of presentation of insignia, not only internationally but also from the [Venezuelan-RG] Order of the Liberator [Simón Bolívar-RG] and the Order of Francisco Miranda, that consist [The Orden del Libertador and the Orden Francisco de Miranda-RG] of the 1st Class worn on a sash, 2nd Class worn on a neck collar, and 3rd Class insignia worn on the chest, which results in a divergence [from conventions-RG], especially for the 2nd Class, so that [the Cruz del Ejercito-RG] instead of having a badge or cross complementing the insignia, has [only-RG] the same insignia, resulting in a missing element that would give a harmonious presentation of the medal. The manufacture of the medal was initially done by the company Russell Uniform [Co. of New York City-RG] and later by N. S. Meyer [Inc.of New York City-RG] (circa 1950-1960), and later was made domestically by several distinguished Venezuelan [jewelers-RG] and other local businesses. In regard to the design, there are several known variants with significant differences in the use of colors for the enamel of the arms of the cross, distinct form the scarlet red indicated in the decree. However it is likely that these were trial designs, so there are no known cases of the medal executed [authorized-RG] with such variations. In spite of these “curiosities”, the medal’s design has been maintained faithfully and exactly to the original design, only incorporating the changes in the name of this award. Accordingly, the medal [was first known as-RG]: “Cruz de las Fuerzas Terrestres Venezolanas” and later [as-RG] “Cruz del Ejercito Venezolano”.

The website Medal Medaille.com has illustrations they identify as a first class medal that represent the Cross of the Venezuelan Army. The words "Cruz del Ejercito Venezolano" (Cross of the Venezuelan Army) appears on the reverse of the central boss and the motto "Honor al Merito" (honor to [achieve] merit) on the obverse of the boss, bordered by a greenish enamelled wreath. The obverse of the crosses arms are red enamel and each arm terminates in 3 gilt balls. The neck ribbon is yellow with red borders. (http://www.medal-medaille.com/sold/product_info.php?products_id=1769) If you read Spanish, the following site has more detailed information about the medal and additional illustrations. I would be happy to translate the information for you tomorrow, but am busy this evening. This site has some apparent errors in naming this medal and incorrectly identifies the inscription on the reverse as "Fuerzas Terrestres Venezolanas" (Venezuelan Ground Forces), which is not the motto illustrated on the medals shown on this website (they also are embossed with "Cruz del Ejercito Venezolano"). http://condecoracionesdevenezuela.com/militares-cruz-del-ejercito/ The motto "Fuerzas Terrestres Venezolanas" is illustrated on the reverse of a chest badge with a pin, identified as the 3rd class version of the decoration, but the miniature cross suspended from a ribbon that may be the 3rd class miniature has the inscription "Cruz del Ejercito Venezolano" on the reverse. More tomorrow.

Looking at images I took last year of this medal I have recently noticed an inscription on the obverse side of the medal I had not seen before, and for which I can get almost no information from the few descriptive sources I have found. This is an inscription visible on the lower left, just inside the the portrait margin, below the right shoulder of Abbas Hilmi II's portrait, above the scarab in the ~8:00 o'clock position. I see this inscription in all of the few images I have seen of this medal, but only my photos of this medal in a glass rooted mount provide much detail. I will probably have to visit the family member's home and use magnification and take a photo to document this, but thought I would see if anyone has any suggestions about this inscription. It is not in Arabic. A short statement exists in the description of the steel dies that Egyptian Zogist brought to my attention in his post on November 5, 2016 in the first string I created about this medal here in the Africa section before I realized there was a separate Middle East & Arab States section on GMIC (titled "Egyptian Khedive commemorative medal question") regarding a set of steel dies for this medal that were on sale on WorthPoint.com (shown in my previous post here of October 26). I apologize for this double posting, but I still get occasional hits on this initial posting although I am trying to keep my inquiries in the Middle East & Arab States section. The description for the set of dies states that an inscription on the obverse is a signature reading "S.G. un". This does not appear to match what little I can make out in my current imagery, and I am unsure if that refers to the medal or margins of the die outside of mold for the medal. I'm including 2 views of this, the second with different lighting may show the second word as "1917", but that is not completely clear. I realize there is not much information on this medal, but wanted to fish here among the knowledgable contributors to GMIC and see if anyone may suggest additional information sources about this inscription or the medal in general. Many thanks! detail of inscription on obverse of the Abbas Hilmi II medal commemorating his coronation ad return from Hegaz. The inscription is on the lower left of the medal, just left of the right shoulder in the portrait of Abbas Hilmi II detail of inscription on obverse of the Abbas Hilmi II medal commemorating his coronation ad return from Hegaz. The inscription is on the lower left of the medal, just left of the right shoulder in the portrait of Abbas Hilmi II. This image is slightly different lighting than in the previous image. The second word in the inscription may be "1917"?

Looking at images I took last year of this medal I have recently noticed an inscription on the obverse side of the medal I had not seen before, and for which I can get almost no information from the few descriptive sources I have found. This is an inscription visible on the lower left, just inside the the portrait margin, below the right shoulder of Abbas Hilmi II's portrait, above the scarab in the 8:00 o'clock position. I see this inscription in all of the few images I have seen of this medal, but only my photos of this medal in a glass rooted mount provide much detail. I will probably have to visit the family member's home and use magnification and take a photo to document this, but thought I would see if anyone has any suggestions about this inscription. It is not in Arabic. A short statement exists in the description of the steel dies that Egyptian Zogist brought to my attention in his post on November 5, 2016 in the first string I created about this medal in the Africa section before I realized there was a separate Middle East & Arab States section on GMIC (titled Help with Egyptian Khedive Medal) regarding a set of steel dies for this medal that were on sale on WorthPoint.com. It states that an inscription on the obverse is a signature reading "S.G. un". This does not appear to match what little I can make out in my current imagery, and I am unsure if that refers to the medal or margins of the die outside of mold for the medal. I'm including 2 views of this, the second with different lighting may show the second word as "1917", but that is not completely clear. I realize there is not much information on this medal, but wanted to fish here among the knowledgable contributors to GMIC and see if anyone may suggest additional information sources about this inscription or the medal in general. Many thanks! detail of inscription on obverse of the Abbas Hilmi II medal commemorating his coronation ad return from Hegaz. The inscription is on the lower left of the medal, just left of the right shoulder in the portrait of Abbas Hilmi II. detail of inscription on obverse of the Abbas Hilmi II medal commemorating his coronation ad return from Hegaz. The inscription is on the lower left of the medal, just left of the right shoulder in the portrait of Abbas Hilmi II. This image is slightly different lighting than in the previous image. The second word in the inscription may be "1917"?

Egyptian Zogist, I did just find an example of the Order of Ismail, 3rd class, Officer's badge that may have been made by Tewfick Bichay. The illustration shows this badge in a presentation box that has the name of Bichay inside the lid. I am surprised as there are many illustrations on auction sites showing the reverse of the breast and neck badges, and they all show the J. Lattes jewelers' hallmark. I have seen no unmarked badges nor any with marks other than Lattes. Of course, this badge could have been placed in a Bichay case, but perhaps some of them were made by Tefck Bichay in Cairo as well. I also am currently checking with a friend who is descendant from the Egyptian royal family regarding the variation in reported dates in different published sources for the origin of the Order of Ismail (1915 by Sultan Hussein Kamil or 1922 by King Fuad I). I also am checking when the Order of Ismail became obsolete as both 1952 and 1954 are reported in different sources. Order of Ismail, 3rd class, Officer, badge with rosette ribbon in presentation case. This example is the only I have seen that was made by Tewfick Bichay of Cairo, all other examples I have come across were made by Lattes of Paris (https://www.flickr.com/photos/dereenb/8059318294)

Egyptian Zogist, Many thanks of this information! I am very interested in what you provided, and would like to see the other bilingual information. It does appear in what you illustrated that only 4 classes are identified for the Order of Ismail and the 4th class is Officer and not Knight. I would like to look at these more carefully to know if the insignia I have tried to illustrate are correct for each the four classes. As I mentioned, I have put these together from a range of sources and the attribution of each classes regalia is not entirely clear or consistent when presented as single items on auction sites or illustrations on some of the websites I have gotten them from for my research. I am not currently investigating other Kingdom period awards, although I have become interested in them because of the work trying to identify the Abbas Hilmi II commemorative medal, the Mixed Courts judges' badges, and the Order of Ismail regalia. As I mentioned, all of the Order of Ismail medals I have seen were made by Lattes. The circular the Jeweler's Circular mentions Egyptian jewelers in part II of an article by Chas Crossman begun on June 23, 1897 page 41, 44 that is continued on July 14, 1897 on pages 8-9 with a mention of the shop of J. Lattes at the margin of the foreigner’s quarter on pg 9. The article continues on another date, but I have not located those pages in the scanned version of this circular I found online from Google books. Crossman was visiting Egypt and making observations on local jewelers as well as other tourist topics. For the other items I've written about here on GMIC, the Abbas Himi II commemorative medal was made by Tewfick Bichay of Cairo, and the Mixed Courts' Judges badges were made by a number of different jewelers (Froment Meurice of Paris, Stobbe of Alexandria, and probably other Egyptian jewelers as well), and some genuine examples of those badges do not have any maker marks. neck badge of the Order of Ismail, Commander class, in presentation box with Lattes maker name inside lid Lattes name inside presentation box, order not specified in original Picssr image another versions of the Lattes name inside a presentation box, order not specified in original Picssr image neck badge (above) and breast star (below) of the Order of Ismail, Grand Officer class, in presentation box for Dr. Giovanni Quirico, an Italian physician. The breast star in this example has apparently been taken apart and re-assembled with a rotation of the gold star in relation to the multi-rayed diamond faceted star below it, representing an incorrect final configuration of the breast star (https://www.coins-la-galerie-numismatique.com/sites/default/files/Auction-image/2017-03/720-9.jpg) Envelope for award document of Order of Ismail, 2nd Class, Grand Officer, to Dr. Giovanni Quirico (https://www.coins-la-galerie-numismatique.com/sites/default/files/Auction-image/2017-03/720-9.jpg) award document for the Order of Ismail, 2nd Class, Grand Officer, to Dr. Giovanni Quirico (https://www.coins-la-galerie-numismatique.com/sites/default/files/Auction-image/2017-03/720-8.jpg)

Egyptian Zogist, Thanks of that genealogical correction, the quoted JOMSA article also incorrectly identifies the origin of the Order of Ismail as "instituted by Royal Decree 96 of 1922" although it was established by Sultan Husain Kamil in 1915.

Unlike the other items I have commented on here in GMIC, there is significant amount of information about the Order of Ismail. I have put together the following image groups based on research over the last year finding descriptions of the Order's regalia and trying to match them with images available primarily from auction sites, Picssr, and Flickr. I am still uncertain whether there were four classes or five (see discussion below). If there is a 5th class, I do not know what the breast badge looks like, if a breast badge is the correct insignia. The Order of Ismail (Nishan al-Ismail), created by Sultan Husain Kamil in 1915 to reward eminent services to the state. Revised by Royal Order 96 of 1922 and by Royal Order No. 48 of 1926. Awarded in four (5? See below) classes (1. Grand Cordon - limited to thirty recipients, 2. Grand Officer - seventy five recipients, 3. Commander - one hundred and fifty recipients, and 4. Officer - three hundred recipients). There may be a 5th class identified as Knight. The Order of Ismail became obsolete in 1954 (some sources suggest 1952?). All of the illustrations and information I have seen identify that the maker was J. Lattes, a businesses in Cairo (and Geneva) that was located near the European quarters in Cairo (likely French-trained or expatriates). This medal does occasionally turn up on auction sites. Journal of the Orders and Medals Society of American (JOMSA) article : Vol 57 (4) 2006 Pg: 20: “This Order was instituted by Royal Decree 96 of 1922 and subsequently modified by Royal Decree 48 of 1926. It was named after Khedive Ismail (reigned 1863-1879), the great-great-grandfather of King Farouk. He was considered a great modernizer, and presided over a period of great advancement in Egypt, (Suez Canal opening, industrialization, military expansion into Sudan and East Africa, all fuelled by a boom in cotton prices brought about by the American Civil War), but he massively overstretched Egypt’s budget, was forced to sell Egypt’s shares in the Canal to Britain, and the British and French essentially took over the running of the country. This led to popular unrest, and the Ottoman Sultan dismissed Ismail and appointed his son Tewfiq as Khedive. The Order was awarded to those who rendered eminent services to the nation.” First Class or Grand Cordon - breast star worn left side, sash and sash badge. Limited to 30 members, excluding royalty and foreign recipients Order of Ismail, Grand Cordon breast star, obverse (https://www.emedals.com/africa/egypt/order-of-ismail-1915-w01271) JOMSA 2006 57 (4):20 description: Breast Star: A five-pointed blue enamelled star with ball finials superimposed upon a circular multi-rayed diamond faceted star. In the center of the star a circular wreath encompassing the Arabic name "Ismail." The star is 84mm in diameter. Order of Ismail, Grand Cordon breast star, reverse showing Lattes maker mark (https://www.emedals.com/africa/egypt/order-of-ismail-1915-w01271) Order of Ismail, Grand Cordon, sash and badge (https://www.emedals.com/africa/egypt/egypt-order-of-ismail-w0269) Order of Ismail, Grand Cordon badge, obverse (https://www.emedals.com/africa/egypt/egypt-order-of-ismail-w0269). JOMSA 2006 57 (4):20 description: Badge: A five-pointed blue enamelled star with ball finials with the addition of a crown suspension affixed to the uppermost arm of the star. The badge is 62 mm excluding suspension and 62 mm x 82 mm including suspension. The dark blue sash is 100 mm in width with a 9 mm red edge stripe inset 2 mm from each edge. Order of Ismail, Grand Cordon badge, reverse showing Lattes mark (https://www.emedals.com/africa/egypt/egypt-order-of-ismail-w0269) Second Class or Grand Officer - breast star worn right side and neck badge. Limited to 75 members Order of Ismail, Grand Officer neck badge (above) and breast badge (below). The neck ribbon is 37 mm in width and 5 mm stripes inset 1 mm from each badge. Otherwise the same dimensions, construction, and materials as the Grand Cordon (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/8844318688) Third Class or Commander - neck badge. Limited to 150 members Order of Ismail, Commander, neck badge (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/3051549594) Fourth Class or Officer - breast badge with ribbon rosette. Limited to 300 members. The JOMSA 2006 article identifies the Fourth Class as "Knight" Order of Ismail, Officer, neck badge with rosette (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/3052095308) Fifth Class Knight - breast badge A fifth class is listed by Edward S. Haynes IEPE website as “Knight” (https://web.archive.org/web/20080801014835/http://faculty.winthrop.edu/haynese/medals/egypt.html). That site lists the five classes as: Grand Cordon; Grand Officer; Commander; Officer; and Knight, but no limit on membership is identified for the Knight Class. The JOMSA 2006 article only lists 4 classes: 1st - Grand Cordon; 2nd - Grand Officer, 3rd - Commander; and 4th- Knight, with the 4th Class being identified as limited to 300 members. I have not found an image of the breast badge that is clearly identified as a Knight Class badge. Presentation case lid exterior for Order of Ismail, unspecified class, 137 mm x 288 mm x 56 mm (https://www.emedals.com/africa/egypt/egypt-order-of-ismail-case-w0270) Interior of lid of presentation case for Order of Ismail, unspecified class (https://www.emedals.com/africa/egypt/egypt-order-of-ismail-case-w0270) Image of King Farouk I wearing the Order of Ismail (to the R of the Order of Mohammad Ali and above the Order of the Nile (https://www.flickr.com/photos/27031646@N08/2888072072)

Egyptian Zogist, Thank you for taking the time to translate and post this. As always, I am indebted to you for your help with my question and generous sharing of information!

Gentlemen, My wife's great grandfather was awarded the Order of Ismail/Nishan al-Ismail during his time in Egypt sitting as a judge on the Mixed Courts in Cairo from 1911-1936. He was awarded this honor in the Grand Officer class, probably at the termination of his judicial career on the District Courts. I have not found any reliable translation of the inscription on the central boss. Edward Haynes' International Electronic Phaleristic Encyclopedia suggests that it may simply be the name of the order, but that statement has multiple question marks and also indicates there might be an additional inscription. May I trouble someone with interest to help translate the inscription on this medal? The medal is currently in a glass mounting and I am not yet privileged to open that frame so my photos of his breast and neck stars contain too much reflection. I am attaching 2 images of the breast star from a past auction through the eMedals website. Many thanks, Rusty

Owain, Many thanks for this bit of information. I know nothing of McBarnet's career other than what is in the auction data, but it appears he remained in Egypt until his death, so there was plenty of time for his contributions to be recognized. What is interesting to me is the similarity of the Native Courts' judges' badges to those of the Mixed Courts. Jasper Brinton (cited above) published some numbers of the judges on various courts. The Mixed Courts started at 11 for the Appeals Court (four Egyptians and seven foreigners) and seven for each of the three District Courts (three Egyptians and four foreigners). The Egyptian government could increase the numbers of judges in any court, with the approval of the Appeals Court. At the closing of the Mixed Courts in 1949, several increases changed the number of judges from the original appointment of 32 judges to 70. The Parquet may have had ~11 judges and an additional 12 legal staff members. By 1930, greater than 330 judges worked in the various Native Courts, more than thirty in the Appeals Court. The reason I cite these numbers is that if at least some of the judicial badges were similar between the Mixed Courts and the Native Courts, then potentially many more such badges would have been issued to judges on the Native Courts. Without secure documentation, potentially a greater number of Native Courts' badges may be represented in those available to modern collectors than genuine Mixed Court badges. All that I have seen advertised for auction, except the McBarnet badge, are noted to be those of judges of the Mixed Courts. There are relevant questions about the provenance of some of the badges at auction. For example, in my March 24, 2017 post the first illustration below the text shows the badge identified as belonging to Judge Herbert Hills, who served onto District Courts 1875-82 and on the Court of Appeals from 1882-1904. However, as noted above, this badge is silver, which would have been the badge of the Parquet, not that of either court Judge Hills served on in Egypt. The attribution is based on a piece of paper attached to the reverse of the badge, illustrated below. Of course, adherence to official insignia use may have periodically lapsed, however, the style of this badge would have looked out of place if most (or all) of the other judges Hill served with wore the correct regalia. I'm not trying to muddy the waters here, just raising questions about determining accurate provenance for any of these badges that collectors have. Reverse of the silver-gilt judges' badge attributed to Judge Herbert Hills of the Mixed Courts in Cairo. The obverse is shown in the first illustration below the text of my post of March 24, 2017. Hills served on the District Courts 1875-82 and on the Appeals Court from 1882-1904. The appropriate style for those badges should be silver and gold for the District Courts or gold for the Appeals Court. The handwritten note on the reverse of this badge reads: "This is the badge of office always worn by the judge of the Mixed Tribunals of Cairo Egypt, whe[n] he was in court. Worn by Judge Herbert Hills". The term Tribunal was applied to the District Courts. This silver obverse of this badge is the style used by the Parquet judges, and there is no evidence that Hills served on that court, except for the possibility of doing so by temporary assignment.

Just a couple things I tried to clarify in editing before that time limit ran out : The Nishan al-Nil (Commander) was almost certainly awarded to judge McBarnet after he completed his service on the courts, and possibly only after finishing his position as a Legal Member of the Permanent Arbitration Board, so ~1914 at the earliest. Judges of the Mixed Courts were supposedly prohibited from receiving honors from the Egyptian government during their tenure on the courts (Brinton, Jasper Yeates 1968: The Mixed Court of Egypt 2nd edition. Yale University Press, New Haven. Pp. 53-54). I'm unsure about whether such restrictions may also have applied to the Order of Medjidie/Mecidiye from the Ottoman Empire. Brinton states that outgoing Presidents of the Mixed Courts' Court of Appeals often were awarded the Grand Cordon of the Nishan al-Nil. The Native Courts (that also included the Council of State) represented a separate bar from the Mixed Courts and the other two Egyptian courts at the time; the Religious Courts of Personal Status (both Muslim & Christian); and the Consular Courts (many of their duties subsumed with the creation of the Mixed Courts). The "Native" Courts (referred to as "National" after 1937), replaced previous purely Moslem courts and were modeled on the Mixed Courts. Its jurisdiction was completely separate from the Mixed Courts and attended to civil and criminal cases primarily involving only Egyptian citizens.

Egyptian Zogist, Many thanks for the link you provided to the sale of the judge's badge and the other medals of Alexander McBarnet. As always, your interests provide some very useful information about this badge for my research. This is the first example I have seen of a documented badge for the Native Courts, which were distinctively separate from the Mixed Courts of Egypt. The Native Courts represented a separate bar from the Mixed Courts and the other Egyptian courts at the time; the Religious Courts of Personal Status -both Muslim & Christian); and the Consular Courts (many of their duties subsumed with the creation of the Mixed Courts). The "Native" Courts (later referred to as "National"), replaced previous purely Moslem courts and was modeled on the Mixed Court. Its jurisdiction was completely separate from the Mixed Courts and attended to cases involving Egyptian citizens. Foreign judges sat on the bench of the Native Courts in its earliest years (1883-~1930), primarily from Belgium and England. By 1930, only one foreign judge (Belgian) was still present on the Native Court, sitting on the Court of Appeals. While French was the official language of the Mixed Courts, the Native Courts used Arabic. The Egyptian government paid higher salaries to native judges (Egyptians) serving on the Native Courts than their Egyptian counterparts in the Mixed Courts in order to increase the prestige of the Native Courts. The highest magistrate of the Native Courts had a salary even higher than the European President of the Mixed Courts (Appeals Court). It is quite interesting that the badge of judge McBarnet is gold/gilt silver (for his position on the Native Court of Appeals; his listed service as a "Judge of First Instance Assiout" may represent a lower court within the Native Court system) as were the badges worn by the Mixed Courts' judges sitting on the Court of Appeals. I also enjoyed seeing information about a European who earned the Order of the Nile (Egypt) and the Order of Medjidie/Mecidiye (Ottoman Empire) for his service in Egypt (as noted, my wife's great grandfather was given the Nishan Ismail/Order of Ismail). The Nishan al Nil and Order of Medjidie were almost certainly awarded to judge McBarnet after he completed his service on the courts, and possibly only after finishing his position as a Legal Member of the Permanent Arbitration Board, so ~1914 at the earliest.

In relation to my question about the sash bow in my last post I have found a modern photo that suggests the bow was/is an element of the Appeals court regalia for all judges of that court, not reserved only for the president of the Court of Appeals. The bows of the modern judicial sashes appear to be nearly identical to those in the eBay images of the judge from the Appeals Court of the Mixed Courts that is attached above in my post of October 27. It is unclear whether such a bow is/was also included in the sash of the lower courts as well. I am attaching this image of the modern Egyptian judiciary showing the use of the sash with a bow for the Appeals Court that maintains the green sash used by the Mixed Courts in the late 19th-early 20th centuries. This image is from the cover of the book Judges and Political Reform in Egypt, 2008, edited by Nathalie Bernard-Maugiron, The American University of Cairo Press, Cairo & New York. The photo is copyrighted by the American University of Cairo Press and was taken by Hossam Fadl/al-Misri al-yawm. It shows judges demonstrating in front of the Judges' Club in Cairo in March, 2006. Note the continued use of the pleated green sash for the Appeals Court (highest Court) with modern insignia and the presence of judges behind them wearing red sashes, reminiscent of the District Courts' (lower Court) regalia during the period of the Mixed Courts.

I have encountered 2 photographs offered for sale on eBay that depict a judge either of the Appeals court or of the Parquet (office of the Procureur-General) showing the judicial regalia and badge that I am attaching here. The seller (who specializes in photos & misc. documents from Egypt & other areas of the Middle East) also provided higher resolution blowups focused on the badge that I also have attached. These studio images probably depict an Egyptian national and show the official costume of the high-collared tunic, fez, badge, and sash. The subject is not identified and the date may be in the 1940s (?). The Mixed Courts were abolished in 1949. The photos provide pretty good images of the judge’s badge, and excellent detail of the sash associated with this position. I cannot definitively determine whether the judge’s badge is gold (Appeals Court) or silver (Parquet), nor whether the sash is monochrome (green for the Appeals Court) or bicolored (a green stripe above a red stripe for the Parquet). The pleats of the sash more closely resemble that detail on the portrait of Jasper Brinton, painted by Mahmoud Said (attached within my message of December 1, 2016) than the sash worn by Apostolo N. Gennaropoulo, the Greek member of the Parquet whose photo is shown in my previous post of March 24, 2017. The B&W photo of the sash on Judge Gennaropoulo clearly shows the 2 colors, and the sash is a satin finish without pleats. The 2 images I have seen of the sash for the District Court (the painted portrait of a still unidentified European judge from Egyptian Zogist on November 23, 2016, and the studio portrait of my wife’s great grandfather shown in my post of November 17, 2016) do not show pleats on the costume sash. My current working notion is that this individual likely was a judge on the Appeals Court. I do not know if the elaborate decorative bow on the left hip was used only for the Appeals Court (possibly only by the president of the Appeals Court?). I have not seen the bow (or left hip) visible in the other images I have seen of judges in their regalia (again the images cited and attached above in previous messages).

Dear Gregory, Thank you for your continued interest in this medal. You stated it is quite rare, do you have any additional information about this Abbas Hilmi II medal? As noted in my post of March 25, the best I can determine about this commemorative medal is that my wife's great grandfather most likely received it as a gift at the end of his term as a judge on the Mixed Courts of Egypt. I do not know much about such commemorative medals, how they were given or whether they would have been available for purchase. Judge Crabites probably received this from a member of the Royal Family, with whom he was quite friendly during his tenure in Cairo. According to one of the Judges on the Appeals Court whom I cited here on March 25 (Brinton, Jasper Yeates, 1968, The Mixed Courts of Egypt, 2nd edition, Yale University Press, New Haven: pp. 53-54) judges were not allowed to receive honors during their time serving the court, but such honors, including the Order of Ismael that Crabites was given, were not uncommonly awarded at the end of their time on the Mixed Courts. It is likely he also was given this medal at that time (1936). Judge Crabites apparently was given the Order of Ismael for his service on the court and was seen as friendly with the King Fuad I and sympathetic to Egyptian interests. That position may have blocked his chances for a subsequent appointment to the Appeals Court (the highest court and a common advancement for judges who had served on the District Courts) and led to his re-assignment to Baghdad (where he died in 1943) during World War II because of British fears of his royalist sympathies with King Farouk I during his initial appointment to Cairo by the OAS in 1942. I have attached two additional images of the obverse and reverse of this badge that I included in my post "Egyptian Khedive commemorative medal question" about this Abbas Hilmi II commemorative medal under Middle East & Arab States, beginning on November 11, 2016. This medal was probably cast by the firm of Tewfick Bichay in Cairo, who also cast several other commemorative and other medals for the Egyptian Khedive and the Republic (see my string on "Egyptian Khedive Judge's Badge question" here on GMIC beginning on November 17, 2016, under Middle East & Arab States). Egyptian Zogist provided a link in this string on November 6, 2016 to a set of steel dies for this commemorative medal that was sold on worhtpoint.com. I am providing the low resolution image of those dies below. I'm afraid I am a rank amateur and not a well-versed phaleristics enthusiast, so my ability to rate this medal's condition (if that is what you are asking me) is more than imperfect. The medal shows some wear on the high points from storage prior to being framed by my mother-in-law.

Egyptian Zogist, As always, your help is of tremendous value in documenting this piece of my wife's family history. I have also been in contact with the fellow who posted the Flickr images and concurs that the date is probably 1328 AH. His great grand uncle was Abbas Hilmi's Cabinet Chief, Ahmed Chafik Pasha, and apparently he mentions the year of the pilgrimage in his memoirs. He is checking the date but has not yet gotten back with me. I'm also going to check if he has a higher resolution version of those images, he is willing to share them with me. On November 5, 2016 (in the forum string I started in the Africa section) you included a link to dies for this medal with a translation of part of the inscription that is included with the description of these dies: "I found the actual dies for this medal being sold, according to that site " Pair of indeterminate iron embossing dies with high relief . The front shows the ruler in an ornamental frame with landmark Egypt ( Sphinx and pyramids ). The reverse presents a view of a Mosque ( Mohammed Ali Mosque in Cairo ) within an ornamental frame , above Horus falcon , bottom two lines of Arabic script. The front bears the signature "S. G. un ". The back is called the year 1325 AH ( = 1907 AD ) in the inscription. Weight : 1.45 kg and 1.65 kg, Diameter : 78.26 mm and 78.80 mm . " http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ottoman-egypt-medal-die-abbas-hilmi-138509049 " - You also wrote on Nov 6 checking The Royal Ark, and at that time it also appeared the date might be 1325 AH. 1328 seems more correct. Again the fellow who posted the Flickr images, Hassan Kamel Kelisli-Morali, initially read the date as 1348, but that makes no sense in relation to Abbas Hilmi's abdication and exile in 1914, but it appears the final 8 is probably correct. Always a pleasure to get your generous help with this. Many thanks!

Egyptian Zogist, Many thanks with your help on the translation. You have provided a great deal of help in my research on this Abbas Hilmi II commemorative medal since I first posted my inquiry, inadvertently in the Africa section! This does not provide new information about this medal commemorating his coronation and return from the Hegaz, however, it is useful to have the wording of the medal's title from the Library's catalogue. I wonder if the title you have translated replicates some parts of the legend on the reverse side of the medal. Unfortunately, the image of the reverse from the BA is of low resolution, probably making it more than difficult to read the legend on the medal. As the only better resolution image I have of the reverse is copyrighted (although I have been in correspondence with the individual who posted it on Flickr & Picssr: Hassan Kamel Kelisi-Morali http://picssr.com/photos/kelisli/interesting/page42?nsid=7892156@N08 pages 42-43) I have not replicated it here previously. That image is copyrighted by Catherine Bichay, the daughter of the jeweler Tewfik Bichay of Cairo, who may be the jeweler who cast this medal. I have attached only the legend portion of the reverse in the hope that is not a copyright violation. It should be possible to enlarge this view.

Thanks to information from Chris Weeks, I was able to download images of the Abbas Hilmi II commemorative medal from the Alexandria Library collections page. Since the only other image of the reverse that I could locate is copyrighted, this is the only image I feel I can share on this forum. The Library's images of the obverse and reverse of this medal are attached here. Is anyone willing to provide any information about whether the text (the same for both images) provides any additional information about this medal? (Info below from Chris Weeks May 15, 2016 in topic 'Kingdom of Egypt 1922-1953" by Egyptian Zogist, October 30, 2015 in Middle East & Arab States): "The most obvious medal-related page from the website is this photo gallery of Egyptian and foreign medals in the library's collection - possibly originally from the Montazah Palace and since taken into the state archives?" http://modernegypt.bibalex.org/Collections/Medals/MedalsLucene.aspx Thanks! Rusty