Mysterious Arabic Breast Star - Beware

[oamotme]

Gentlemen,

 

Recently I was contacted by a fellow collector with a view to identifying a mysterious breast star. As the badge was of silver niello work it was perhaps similar to the badges of the Imam Shamil Period of the 1850's. 

 

Initially I thought it was perhaps an Imam Shamil badge affixed to a breast star piece but the style of the Arabic is different and I could not make out any names or key words such as 'bravery', 'hero' or 'lion'. Also the niello work is different – the script is silver and the surround is niello rather than the traditional reverse format of the script being ‘black’. I thought it may be a Koranic inscription or perhaps some from of saying. Accordingly I referred it to one of my colleagues who is an expert in 'difficult' Arabic to see if he could translate the inscription. His response was as follows

 

"Interesting: it’s from a poem called Fawa`id Hasana (“Good lessons”) by Mustafa Wuhaib Al-Barudi (1874-1943). This is how it shows on the medal:

 

The world is like the shade of a cloud; it shelters you for a day, and then is gone away

Do not rejoice at it when it comes near, and do not grieve for it when it has gone. 

 

ألا إنما الدنيا كظل سحابة أظلتك يوما ثم عنك اضمحلت

فلا تك فرحانا بها حين أقبلت ولا تك جزعانا بها حين ولت

 

An unusual choice for a medal, I suggest! Here is the original, with a small difference from the version quoted in the medal highlighted in yellow, and a link to the poet’s biography."

http://www.almoajam.org/poet_details.php?id=7384

The poet is Lebanese and this is appropriate to the niello work which was a style popular in the Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

 

The badge/star is quite an attractive piece but not at all either a civil or military award. Some enterprising 'dealer' will try to pass this off as something it is not!

 

Kind regards,

 

Owain

 

Edited February 9, 2016 by oamotme
Format

[peter monahan]

Simply an attractive piece of jewellery, then?  perhaps created for a family member or fan of the poet?  It's quite beautiful, whatever it is!

[oamotme]

Peter, On the reverse of the star the brooch pin mounts, or where they were, are visible and indeed the body of the star looks to have been well made but now has some wear. I agree with you it is quite an attractive combination of 'badge' and star but I suspect that the badge was at one stage a stand alone piece. Regards, Owain