Incomplete Ethiopian Court Group

[oamotme]

Gentlemen,

I have recently had the good fortune to obtain an interesting group, which although missing two medals, is a group which I should be able to complete. The mounted group consists of :

• Order of Menelik, 4th Class (missing and a "spare worn Haile Selassie merit medal has been substitutued)
• Order of the Star, 4th Class
• Large gilt Haile Selassie Medal of Merit
• Haile Selassie Jubilee Medal
• 25th Anniversary of Liberation Medal
• Norway - Medal of Olav V
• Greece - Order of George I, 6th Class (thank you Emannuel)
• Holland - Order of Orange Nassau, 5th Class (or possibly medal?)
• Denmark - Medal of Frederick IX
• Belgium - Order of the Crown, 4th Class

What attracted me to the group is that it was the first time I had seen a mounted group including the Jubilee and 25th Anniversary medals, both relatively scarce, especially the Jubilee medal. It also provides some scope for research in as much as I hope to be able to track down the state visits by Haile Selassie to the overseas countries or indeed visits by Heads of State to Addis Ababa.

From the grades of awards, both Ethiopian and from overseas, I would infer that the recipient was an official at the Court of Haile Selassie. Whilst I should be able to obtain an Order of Menelik without great difficulty a challenge I have is to ascertain whether the missing Dutch order is indeed the 5th Class of the Order of Orange Nassau or a Medal of the Order and thus I will also post this topic in the European (Netherlands) forum - that forum may also be able to provide further information on the Danish and Norwegian awards.

KInd regards and festive greetings from Riyadh,

Owain Raw-Rees

Edited December 17, 2012 by oamotme

[oamotme]

Gentlemen,

An image of the reverse of the group.

Owain

[peter monahan]

Oamotme Lovely group. I assume you had to break the '$10 each' for this one. Any problems getting them out of the country? Peter

[Paul R]

Will the missing medals be very difficult to find?

[peter monahan]

I would think a spare Order of Menelik would be a challenge, while the Dutch one should be commoner and therefore easier.

Peter

Edited January 13, 2013 by peter monahan

[oamotme]

Dear Paul & Peter,

The missing medal has been confirmed as the Dutch medal (probably civil) of the Order of Orange Nassau and most probabaly the gold (gilt) issue - this is available with various European dealers. The Order of Meneleik is also available with a couple of international dealers. In due course I will "pull finger out" and get them. Yes, I did break the $10 rule and the group was posted to the UK. I posted this in the Nortehr European section and received much assistance from GMIC members knowledgeable in these areas.

Kind regards,

Owain

[peter monahan]

An excellent outcome, then. And a good start to 2013, I suspect. [i'm a sucker for happy endings! }

Peter

[congobrown]

Owain,

I am interested to see that the 25th Anniversary of Liberation Medal is on a yellow ribband. I had previously only seen it on a red and white ribband and then last week I bought one in Addis in what I believe to be its original box of issue (no maker's name) with the same yellow ribband as in your photo. Thoughts?

Tim

[oamotme]

Tim, Good question - in the group the ribbon is not of a standard manufacture - a much lighter material. Such medals for sale from dealers have the red and white ribbon. I also believe there are two types of this medal - in silver and also a silvered base metal, but cannot confirm. Of course if the medals were court mounted in Addis it may be that the military tailor did not have the correct ribbon! Owain

[congobrown]

Owain,

That sounds like exactly the same ribbon as the one that I have on my copy. Very light material and with a slightly watered effect making the yellow a bit darker in the middle than at the sides. Mine seems like a good silver version. Tim

[oamotme]

Gentlemen,

Some eight years on - retired to UK a year ago and now in lockdown.

What to do? Ferret through my Ethiopia drawer and at long last complete the group.

Enjoy,

Owain

 

[Ulsterman]

Excellent! I seem to recall the Dutch award is gazetted upon issue. If so, it would narrow the recipient pool. Also I think the Danes keep records of awards as well. After you get a name, try Pankhurst in Addis.. He knows a lot of biographies. 

Edited September 6, 2020 by Ulsterman