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Dear IXHS, Many thanks for this information - I will write and see if I can find out if they have a list to refer to. I attach some more images of the order - a most attractive piece. Again thank you, Owain

Gentlemen, I have drifted away from my usual focus of Arab awards and have purchased attributable miniatures to a Mr. A. De Boinville. As can be seen from the illustration the French awards remain, Legion of Honour and the Decoration of Fidelity of the National Guard, but the badge of the Order of the Phoenix is missing. Whilst in due course it would be nice to acquire a miniature, I suspect that it will take time, patience and money, to obtain one of these most attractive and scarce awards - see image c/o Morton & Eden. In the meantime I write to enquire whether the rolls of the Order of the Phoenix exist and if so whether de Boinville is noted. Accompanying the miniatures is a bestowal document for the Legion of Honour dated 1822 as well as his election letter to the British Royal Geographical Society in 1853. It appears he was working at the French War Ministry and possibly in the mid-1830's moved to the United Kingdom. With thanks to anyone who can assist or point me in the right direction. Owain

Peter, I think it is the makers name "Hanil Seoul Korea", Regards, Owain

Gentlemen, Apologies for the delay in adding text - some form of gremlin allowed me only to upload the images of these wings - seen on E-Bay. I thought the bomb design on the wings reminiscent of the medals design - I may be clutching at straws...... I have yet to decipher the Amharic initials. Regards, Owain

The colour arms are those of the Kingdom of Iraq: Two rivers - Tigris & Euphrates Two swords - Arabic & Kurdish Two stars - Order of Rafidain (two rivers in Arabic) Two supporters - Assyrian lion & Arab horse Two plants - wheat (food) & cotton (??) (industry) - also palms for dates Regards, Owain

Hugh, Nice gift! See below: King Hussain* of Hijaz > King Abdullah of Jordan > King Talal > King Hussain *His brother - Emir (Prince) Nasser > Husain bin Nasser Thus I think he was King Hussain of Jordan's 1st cousin twice removed. The title Sharif (or noble) indicates descent from the Prophet Mohammed. Regards, Owain

Hugh, Excellent stuff, but this isn't to King Hussein, who became king in 1952, but I believe to one of his relatives Hussein Bin Nasser - son of his Great Grandfather Hussein King of Hijaz 's brother and who was Prime Minister of Jordan twice during the 1960's. (I think!?) A really great set with provenance. Regards, Owain

Gentlemen, I am trying to identify two foreign ribbons out of the General's awards - see image. To date I have identified the rest of his awards as follows War Wounded BadgeParachute WingsOrder of Military GallantryOrder of Military Merit 1st ClassOrder of Renaissance 3rd ClassOrder of the Star of Jordan 3rd ClassLong Service & Appreciation Medal1968 Battle of Karamah Medal1977 Silver Jubilee Medal1967-71 Service BadgeLeadership MedalAdministrative Efficiency MedalJordan - Badge of Public Service in the Sultanate of Oman?Oman Order of EnduranceOman General Service Medal?Korea Order of Diplomatic Merit 3rd Class.Any suggestions? Owain Gentlemen, A quick follow up. According Jordanian Armed Forces Regulations the first unidentified ribbon is the "Badge of Public Service in the Sultanate of Oman" - sadly I have no illustration of this award: "The Medal is awarded to the J.A.F. members who were on the land of Oman, whether that was for military field duties or acts of creation and development of other duties provided that each of them had spent a period of two continuous weeks and more in the Sultanate of Oman with the exception of deputized officers and members of the military missions." So only the penultimate ribbon to identify. Owain

Paja, I agree that the button hole device is most probably the Egyptian Order of Merit. The Order was made by Bichay of Cairo and there are two types - if the suspension hawk has two stars then it is a United Arab Republic version as opposed to being just Egypt. Regards, Owain

Gentlemen, I would suggest that the two orders with crescent suspensions are the Ottoman (or Egyptian) Orders of the Mejidie and Osmanie. The orders with crown suspensions are both probably European and the bottom left is probably the Legion of Honour of France. Kind regards, Owain

Dear Brian, Congratulations on you success - patience is a virtue! Next on our respective lists of wants will be the Military Star of Sultan Fouad - see details below from the e-medals website. I have known of two for sale in 25 years + , - one in Canada (e-medals) a few years ago - no idea of the price, and once in the mid-90's in the Khan Al Khalili in Cairo as part of a group at $2,000 - sadly at the time I could not afford it. Regards, Owain "Order of the Military Star of King Fouad I - Multi-piece construction, silver gilt and enamels, 43.2 mm x 46.8 mm, bar suspension with original ribbon, light contact, near extremely fine. Footnote: The Order of the Military Star of Fouad I (Fu'ad I) (Nigam al-Askariyal al-Kawkab al-Fu'ad al-Awwal ) was founded December 6, 1919 by King Fouad I. A military decoration awarded in one class only, to officers of the military forces for services in the face of the enemy, for merit or for distinguished services in the field, and who were mentioned in dispatches. Further services were recognized by the award of a bar. Modified and retained by the republic in late 1953." http://www.emedals.com/highlighted-offerings/world-nations/africa/egypt/order-of-the-military-star-of-king-fouad-i-w1760

James, Tinson's book has photographs of both the Civil and Military Collars of the Order of Oman and these are both jeweled pieces. Over the years in collecting Omani awards whilst most of the medals sooner or later become available, the Orders have proved to be exceedingly difficult to come by. Indeed the only enameled Omani order I have is a 5th Class of the Order of Renaissance. Occasionally, very occasionally, at auction more senior awards appear with groups from senior officers who served with the SOAF but they reach a price commensurate with the other medals in the group and the precious metal they may be made of. Of course the Sultan over the years has instituted a great number of awards many of which were only made in limited number and many of which appear to have fallen, quite quickly, into abeyance. Kind regards, Owain

James, Great picture - note the respective Queens wear their badges (stars) in different places - QEII in the traditional British manner whilst Queen Noor has it high on the sash - perhaps to avoid damaging her dress. Owain P.S King Hussein's miniatures would be a welcome addition to any collection.

From the top : Order of Excellence "In the name of God the Merciful, the Munificent / Order of Excellence" Collar of the Most Honorable Order of Oman I cannot read the Arabic - unclear and calligraphically complex, but from Tinson's book the central 'red' is the name of the order, "The Most Honourable Order of Oman", the green is a religious/Koran inscription, "If you are determined enough and God is with you, then nothing can stop you" and the outer white reads, "His Majesty Qaboos Bin Saeed Sultan of Oman 1403". The inscription on each link is "In the name of God the Merciful, the Munificent ". Order of Oman White = Civil and Red = Military. The central inscription reads "Wissam Oman" (Order of Oman) The top line reads "20 Jumada Al Awal Sanat 1390" - which I assume is the date of institution corresponding to October 1970. The lower inscription reads "Insha'a Al Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed" - (Instituted by Sultan Qaboos bin Saaed) Regards, Owain

James, Thanks for posting these images. The inscription on the collar reads in three links, right to left, "Qalada - Al Hussein - Bin Ali", (Collar of Al Hussein Bin Ali). The inscription on the breast badge "Al Hussein Bin Abdullah" or "Abdullah Bin Al Hussein" - I suspect the latter is correct as the order was founded by King Abdullah in June 1949. Beautiful work. Regards, Owain

James, Many thanks for posting these images - it is good to know that there is a 1st Type and 2nd Type of this order and the reasons why. I suspect that any likelihood of any collector acquiring either is remote to say the least! Regards, Owain

James, Many thanks for posting this information and pictures. From my limited Arabic the "Aal Nahyan" (Aal as opposed to Al = the) on the badge translates as 'Nahyan Family' (or tribe). The inscription on the star reads, "Wissam Aal Nahyan Al Akbar" -Order of the Great Nahyan Family. Kind regards, Owain

Gro, I think the outer inscription reads "Al Majlis Al Baladi" (Municipal Council) but I cannot read the central inscription. Regards, Owain

Dear Gro, According to the case inscriptions, outer and inner, the upper illustration is the "Decoration of Military Duty 1st Class" of "The Libyan Arab Republic" and the second illustration is of the "Decoration of Military Duty 2nd Class" of "The Socialist Peoples Libyan Arab Jamahariyah". Reverse images of the medals should confirm these designations. Kind regards, Owain

Jeff, Lukasz, Paul, Dave, I think there are/were 4 classes - yours is, I think, a 2nd Class - see attached photo for 1st, 3rd & 4th class. Sorry about the quality but these were in my collection but disposed of some time ago. The 3rd Class has the manufacturer "Pars Nishan Factory Tehran" on the reverse (Nishan is Farsi for Order). Of course this may all be supposition. There is also a similar order for Art / Letters / Music, but I am not sure of the correct title - although in Farsi it is "Nishan Honar" (??) - see attached - probably/possibly follows the same sequence as the Order of Culture. To confuse matters further there is I believe a specific Medal of Art in 3 classes - see attached image of the 3rd Class. Regards, Owain

Good morning from Riyadh, The shape and in part the design of this medal appears similar to and taken from the Loyalty or Merit medals of the 1960's from the reign of Mohammed Zaher Shah. I cannot read the upper word on the reverse but the lower word appears to be "khidmat" (service). The obverse bears a map of Afghanistan and an inscription above and below but this is unclear. Notwithstanding its poor manufacture and amateur ribbon it is an interesting piece. Regards, Owain,

Gro, This is, if I recall correctly, a Military Instructor/Teachers Badge from the Iraqi Military Academy or similar - probably dating from the mid-1960 onwards . There are I recall earlier posts on this badge. It is definitely not an order, decoration or medal. Kind regards, Owain

Dear Hucks, This is the Syrian "Order of Training" - looks genuine and a relatively common medal. Regards, Owain See my file notes below: Obverse - A five pointed star bearing a circular medallion depicting a trophy of arms representing the military consisting of a pair of wings a crossed anchor and rifle surmounted by a green helmet above which and extending onto the uppermost point of the star a flaming torch. To the right and left of the torch is the Arabic inscription, "To sweat in peace saves blood in war”. Below the trophy is the inscription, “Training Medal”. Reverse - Blank. Size - 40 mm Metal - Anodized aluminium. Ribbon - 36 mm of three equal stripes from the left of blue, light blue and light green. Further awards are indicated by a bronze oak leaf upon the ribbon. Suspension - A loop through a ring affixed to the uppermost point of the star. Instituted - Legislative Decree # 453 of the 5th of March 1964. (This medal is awarded to all officers who are deemed worthy during the military training season. To qualify officers must have commanded a company or higher unit for at least one training year and should have contributed good service in all mobilisation exercises, practices, inspections and supervisory tours conducted by the General Command. Officers should also not have been subjected to more than 15 days punishment during the relevant training year nor have been absent for more than 60 days inclusive of leave and official duties.)

Hello, The detail/script is unclear but it could be a university badge by Huguenin of Le Locle in Switzerland. I think the script on the blue rectangle reads "Governor". Regards, Owain