Unknown Arabic Breast Star

[Linasl]

Hello. I just received what appears to me to be an Arabic Military Breast Star. I know nothing about this.

Do you know what country, what it's called, from what time period, what it was awarded for, etc? Any information you can provide would be helpful.

I hope the photos are clear enough. If not, please send me an e-mail.

Thank you.

Linas

[Guest IMHF]

Hello. I just received what appears to me to be an Arabic Military Breast Star. I know nothing about this.

Do you know what country, what it's called, from what time period, what it was awarded for, etc? Any information you can provide would be helpful.

I hope the photos are clear enough. If not, please send me an e-mail.

Thank you.

Linas

Very nice looks to be Ottoman Empire Turkey..

Not sure Owain can you help out..

Lorenzo

[Guest IMHF]

What did this baby cost you?? Does remind me of a police badge..

Lorenzo

[Linasl]

Greetings Lorenzo.

It was a gift, so I don't know what it cost (I am curious as well).

Linas

[Guest IMHF]

Greetings Lorenzo.

It was a gift, so I don't know what it cost (I am curious as well).

Linas

It is very beautiful..

Lorenzo

[ChrisW]

Linas,

Interesting badge. Do you know if it's actually Arab, as opposed to Indian, Pakistani, etc?

Is it possible to get a clear view of any of the writing? It's difficult to read. All the writing looks hand-inscribed, and the badge itself is rather crude, so it may be an unofficial award, or from a small institution (school, small unit or government agency, etc), or otherwise produced in small numbers.

Cheers,

Chris

[Linasl]

Linas,

Interesting badge. Do you know if it's actually Arab, as opposed to Indian, Pakistani, etc?

Is it possible to get a clear view of any of the writing? It's difficult to read. All the writing looks hand-inscribed, and the badge itself is rather crude, so it may be an unofficial award, or from a small institution (school, small unit or government agency, etc), or otherwise produced in small numbers.

Cheers,

Chris

[Linasl]

Hello Chris.

Thanks for your input. No, I am not certain it is Arabic, but the script appears to be Arabic.

As for a clearer view, not possible with this forum's very low allowance on kb's per photo. If you want, send me an email and I will send you a high resolution photo of the center. Please send to: linasliubinskas (at) hotmail.com

Thanks again. Linas

[Guest IMHF]

Larger Images of the Breast Badge..

Lorenzo

[Guest IMHF]

I dont know if thats a hand or a tourch flame??

The Cresent Moon is like most of the Turkey ODM?? Many countries were rueled by the Ottoman Empire could this be of that era of another country that was ruled by Turkey

Lorenzo

[Brian Wolfe]

It doesn't look to be Indian or Pakistani to me and a check of my references books has turned up nothing for these two countries.

It has a crudeness about it that makes me wonder if it was something less than a standard government issue. Possibly something like a veteran's association would produce to commemorate service in a conflict?

Regards

Brian

[ChrisW]

The date at the bottom of the ring is 1305, and the "5" looks to me to be more Persian or Urdu than Arabic. In the Persian calendar, the year 1305 corresponds to 1926/1927. In the Islamic calendar -- used more by Arab countries -- it corresponds to 1887/1888. So I would venture that this badge is from Persia, Afghanistan or India, not an Arab country.

[Guest IMHF]

I am going with it is from a ruled country by Turkey Ottoman era due to the Crescent moon and the looks of the Star..

Can anyone else read any of the Arabic on the Star???

Lorenzo

[oamotme]

Good morning from Riyadh!

The top word is "shuja'a" which is "bravery" - I will need to work on the rest which is not clear at all. Note it is not "for bravery" which in Arabic would read "lilshuja'a" and thus may be part of a three word motto on the outer circle. The crescent and hand design is reminiscent of the Comoros.

Regards,

Owain.

As a follow up:

Outside, right to left:

" ?? - shuja'a - muta'a" = "?? - bravery - obedience".

Centre top to bottom:

"??- allah muwan abd - allah hakim ??" = ??* allah Muwan Abdullah Ruler ??" (*first part of name ending in allah?)

Date 1305 = 19 September 1887 - 6 September 1888.

Edited March 28, 2010 by oamotme

[Guest IMHF]

I found this link which almost has the same badge with the Moon and hand..

Star of Anjouan Plaque and Knight's Badge

http://www.emering.c...oroislands.html

Lorenzo

Edited March 28, 2010 by IMHF

[Guest IMHF]

A High level ODM Collector told me in an e-mail that...

It is nothing, something that somebody did in their spare time.

Lorenzo

[oamotme]

As a follow up:

Outside, right to left:

" ?? - shuja'a - muta'a" = "?? - bravery - obedience".

Centre top to bottom:

"??- allah muwan abd - allah hakim ??" = ??* allah Muwan Abdullah Ruler ??" (*first part of name ending in allah?)

Date 1305 = 19 September 1887 - 6 September 1888.

Owain

[Linasl]

Thank you Owain. Do you think it is Ottoman? If no, what country?

By the way, you have been very helpful and I truly appreciate it.

Take care. Linas

[Brian Wolfe]

I found this link which almost has the same badge with the Moon and hand..

Star of Anjouan Plaque and Knight's Badge

http://www.emering.c...oroislands.html

Lorenzo

Hi Lorenzo,

Good work finding the link mentioned in your post above. It would seem the link has solved the mystery. It is a poor attempt to duplicate the Star of Anjouan from the Comoro Islands.

The Crescent Moon is common to Islamic States so it really is not a lot of help when researching such items, so doubly well done on solving the problem of identification.

Cheers to you Lorenzo.

Regards

Brian

[oamotme]

Gentlemen,

We appear to be in agreement that it is from the Comoros or more specifically from Anjouan. My own view is that the inscription is not entirely the same as the better made French manufactuired pieces - although at initial glance the word "hakim" (ruler) is common to both. The Arabic script in the French manufactured pieces is almost illegible or incomprehensible as it has been included into the design of the award by persons unfamiliar with Arabic script. Whilst some of the Arabic on the piece in discussion is illegible it does appear to have been inscribed, however crudely, by an Arabic speaker - the construction of the word "shuja'a "(bravery) is spot on. To dismiss this peice a "nothing" is unwise. To my mind it is not a fake rather a locally manufactured piece serving some purpose - perhaps the words "bravery" and "obedience" give some indication that it was made specificaly to reward some action - these words are definitely not included on the European manufactured awards.

A nice locally manufactured piece which would go well in my collection (ha!) - plenty of research potential although I doubt whether the real story will ever really appear!

Owain

PS. Is the piece silver?

Edited March 28, 2010 by oamotme

[Brian Wolfe]

Gentlemen,

We appear to be in agreement that it is from the Comoros or more specifically from Anjouan. My own view is that the inscription is not entirely the same as the better made French manufactuired pieces - although at initial glance the word "hakim" (ruler) is common to both. The Arabic script in the French manufactured pieces is almost illegible or incomprehensible as it has been included into the design of the award by persons unfamiliar with Arabic script. Whilst some of the Arabic on the piece in discussion is illegible it does appear to have been inscribed, however crudely, by an Arabic speaker - the construction of the word "shuja'a "(bravery) is spot on. To dismiss this peice a "nothing" is unwise. To my mind it is not a fake rather a locally manufactured piece serving some purpose - perhaps the words "bravery" and "obedience" give some indication that it was made specificaly to reward some action - these words are definitely not included on the European manufactured awards.

A nice locally manufactured piece which would go well in my collection (ha!) - plenty of research potential although I doubt whether the real story will ever really appear!

Owain

PS. Is the piece silver?

Hello Owain,

I agree with you completely. I was not suggesting it was a fake but rather a locally made specimen albeit not a very finely made one. This is encountered quite often with the medals of Independent India and referred to as "Taylor's Copies". They are not as nicely made but very much a collectable item. The collecting community is quite often too quick to dismiss a specimen if it does not fit well within the generally accepted parameters. If we all fell into the habit then nothing new in the hobby would ever be discovered as it would be simply dismissed out-of-hand.

Thanks for pointing this out Owain.

Regards

Brian

[Linasl]

Hello Owain.

Thank you for all your assistance.

Unfortunately, I do not have the capability to test if it is silver, but I may go to another collector I know who can check. I will let all you know.

Thank you. Linas

[Linasl]

Hello Lorenzo.

I plan on putting this Breast Star on eBay this weekend, after I check if it is silver. I have received such a great response that I think I can create a good description.

I do not know all the rules of this forum. Can I post a link to the eBay auction page or at least the Item Number on this topic string?

Thanks in advance. Linas

[Linasl]

Hello Owain and all,

I had the Star checked by a competent jeweler. He determined it is 525/1000 purity Silver and Tin.

Considering that this Star is made, in part, of silver, I would venture to guess that this is an actual Artisan-made Breast Star meant as a reward for someone, and not some phony display item.

Thanks all of you for your help.

Linas

[Linasl]

Greetings All. Want to let you know that this Breast Star is now listed on eBay. You can click on the title below, or search via the Item Number:

XRARE French Colonial Comoro 1887/8 Anjouan Breast Star - 190386490562

If you do bid, good luck.

And thank you all for the great discussion surrounding this Star.

Take care. Linas