Manchurian Order of the Illustrious Dragon

[Paul L Murphy]

With only 33 awards made between 1933 and 1940 this is a very rare award. I do not have the sash badge but here are photos of the breast star which I purchased in Spink a few years ago. First up the obverse

The quality of manufacture is amazing.

[Paul L Murphy]

And here is the reverse

Enjoy :cheers:

[Ed_Haynes]

Nice! And those senior Manchuguo awards (not really "Japan") were made in such small numbers.

[Paul L Murphy]

Nice! And those senior Manchuguo awards (not really "Japan") were made in such small numbers.

I know. I was going to post it under China but figured it is probably of more interest to Japanese collectors given the nature of Manchukuo. I have not been able to find out if there were further Manchurian awards given between 1940 and 1945, but even if there were the numbers would have been pretty sparse for the higher grades.

[Guest Rick Research]

:love:

The other Manchukuo awards are squared and clunky by comparison with THIS beauty. It's like a blend of the Dragon of Anaam and the Persian Lion & Sun.

Dazzlling aesthetically!

[Ed_Haynes]

Yes. With the "Orchid", very Chinese. The others are much more self-consciously "Manchu".

[James Hoard]

With only 33 awards made between 1933 and 1940 this is a very rare award. I do not have the sash badge but here are photos of the breast star which I purchased in Spink a few years ago. First up the obverse

The quality of manufacture is amazing.

Paul,

You are very lucky fellow to have this in your collection.

A lovely piece, thanks for posting.

What is the stoe in the centre of the star? Saphire, diamond?

Cheers,

James

[Paul L Murphy]

Paul,

You are very lucky fellow to have this in your collection.

A lovely piece, thanks for posting.

What is the stoe in the centre of the star? Saphire, diamond?

Cheers,

James

It is not a stone, it is a small gold ring around the dragon's foot.

[alex82]

Amazing! :love:

[lilo]

I do not have the sash badge ....................

Hi Paul,

Can you please let me know which are the colours of the sash badge ?

If you have a photo can you please post it here as a reference or can you post a link where I can see it ?

Many Thanks

Lilo

[Paul L Murphy]

Hi Paul,

Can you please let me know which are the colours of the sash badge ?

If you have a photo can you please post it here as a reference or can you post a link where I can see it ?

Many Thanks

Lilo

The sash badge colours are the same with the "cloud" suspender in the same pale green as the small rays. There is a photo in colour in Peterson's book published by the OMSA.

[lilo]

The sash badge colours are the same with the "cloud" suspender in the same pale green as the small rays. There is a photo in colour in Peterson's book published by the OMSA.

Have I well understood ??

You have written that : 'The sash badge colours are the same with the "cloud" suspender'.

What do you mean ?

Is the colour of this Sash Badge the plain 'pale green' or is it with some stripes near the edge ?

Have you the possibility to scan the relevant page of the 'Peterson's book published by the OMSA' where this sash is shown ?

Many Thanks

Regards

lilo

[Paul L Murphy]

Have I well understood ??

You have written that : 'The sash badge colours are the same with the "cloud" suspender'.

What do you mean ?

Is the colour of this Sash Badge the plain 'pale green' or is it with some stripes near the edge ?

Have you the possibility to scan the relevant page of the 'Peterson's book published by the OMSA' where this sash is shown ?

Many Thanks

Regards

lilo

What I mean is that the sash badge is the same as the breast star but the suspender from which it hangs is pale green. I am not going to breach OMSA copyright by scanning their book here, if you are interested in Manchurian orders then I would recommend that you purchase a copy of it.

Best regards,

Paul

[Guest Rick Research]

I have 1st edition (1967) and 3rd edition (2000) of Peterson, and the illustrations are only in black and white. :beer:

[Paul L Murphy]

I have 1st edition (1967) and 3rd edition (2000) of Peterson, and the illustrations are only in black and white.

It is in colour on the bottom right hand side of the 4th page in the central colour section of the 3rd Edition.

:cheers:

[lilo]

What I mean is that the sash badge is the same as the breast star but the suspender from which it hangs is pale green. I am not going to breach OMSA copyright by scanning their book here, if you are interested in Manchurian orders then I would recommend that you purchase a copy of it.

Best regards,

Paul

Hi Paul,

I was not enough clear with my question.

What I would like to know - if possible - is which are the colour/colours of the Sash Ribbon of this Order and NOT how the sash badge of this Order is.

Best Regards

Lilo

[Guest Rick Research]

Ah sure enough... hadn't ruffled the exact few pages where the color ones are in the middle. There is NO SASH RIBBON illustrated.

[Ed_Haynes]

Well, on page 140 (3rd ed.), Peterson says "The sash is 106mm wide, of 'morning glory blue' with 18mm edge stripes, and has the usual rosette."

It also tells us that this was only awarded 33 times (1933-40). (Therefore it is rather rare and teh original sahses are not lying around everywhere.)

What else do you wish to know?

Maybe when we get more recent books on Japanaese and Chinese awards, based on more rigorous consultation of the primary sources, there will be more detail?

[Paul L Murphy]

Well, on page 140 (3rd ed.), Peterson says "The sash is 106mm wide, of 'morning glory blue' with 18mm edge stripes, and has the usual rosette."

It also tells us that this was only awarded 33 times (1933-40). (Therefore it is rather rare and teh original sahses are not lying around everywhere.)

What else do you wish to know?

Maybe when we get more recent books on Japanaese and Chinese awards, based on more rigorous consultation of the primary sources, there will be more detail?

I have never handled an original sash for this order so I cannot add anything to the description in Peterson (unfortunately).

[lilo]

Well, on page 140 (3rd ed.), Peterson says "The sash is 106mm wide, of 'morning glory blue' with 18mm edge stripes, and has the usual rosette."

What else do you wish to know?

Many Thanks for all involved !

Ed,

1) can you let me know if the so called 'morning glory blue' (reported in Peterson book) is the same shade of colour of the scan I posted Below ?

2) In the description are mentioned '18mm edge stripes' : is it stated something about the colour they should have ?

Regards

Lilo

Edited May 4, 2009 by lilo

[Ed_Haynes]

I don't know of anyone who has seen the sash, so I don't know how we visualise the description in the statutes. Once again, this isn't a precise science.

Sorry, typing while distracted (engaged in "conversation" with family member) led to a word being dropped. Should read: ". . . with 18mm white edge stripes, . . .".

[Richard LaTondre]

And here is the reverse

Enjoy

Very impressive! Did you see any mint marks such as the Osaka 'M'?

Thanks for sharing.

Dick

[Richard LaTondre]

I have 1st edition (1967) and 3rd edition (2000) of Peterson, and the illustrations are only in black and white.

If you look more carefully you will find the color photograph illustrated in the color plate section of the Third Edition.

[Paul L Murphy]

Very impressive! Did you see any mint marks such as the Osaka 'M'?

Thanks for sharing.

Dick

I do not recall any mint marks on it. It is in the bank vault so I will take a closer look when I next have it out.

[lilo]

Hi,

Finally I got a beautiful picture not only of the Sash Badge but also of the colours of the Sash ribbon : It is illustrated on pages 138-139 of the new book 'Chinese Orders 1862-1955' by Gongquing Li that I highly recommend.

Regards

Lilo