Rusty Greaves Posted February 11, 2020 Author Posted February 11, 2020 (edited) 922F, many thanks for your comment. I am woefully ignorant of the British form of sashes. I really appreciate your information that the narrow, unpinked form of the decorative bow, and the fringed, unpinked margin of the sash is a British form. I mistakenly thought it was an Egyptian variant of the sash. In response to your comment, I have tried to look at photos of sashes for British awards and see why you posed this question. This is the only example I have seen of the Order of Ismail with this sash form. The Eisenhower example has an unpinked bow, but the form of the bow and the pinked margin of the sash is the same as all other Grand Cordon examples I have come across in my research. Unfortunately, the Grand Cordon set shown in the 15 January post is not identified with any award recipient. I know very little about how most of the individuals I have identified (either as just names or through photos) have received their Order of Ismail awards, and am afraid I do not now if the choice of such a sash form was on offer from the King of Egypt or may represent a possible after-the-fact construction by folks who wanted a British form of the sash. I have no information about who was the recipient of the Grand Cordon Class of the Order of Ismail from an April 2018 auction by La Galerie Numismatique (https://www.coins-la-galerie-numismatique.com/auction-xxxviii-day-1/order-ismail) that also is archived on the liveauctioneers.com website (https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/60483636_order-of-ismail) that I illustrated in my first post of 15 January, 2020 (and on 22 February, 2019 showing some of the hallmarks; on the sash badge the date hallmark is "B" for 1927-1928, and a date hallmark of "C" on the breast star, indicating and assay date of 1928-1929). The three British Governor--Generals of the Sudan who I discussed in my post of 25 November, 2019 (Sir Geoffrey Francis Archer, Sir John Loader Maffey, and Sir George Stewart Symes) were British citizens, but wore their Grand Cordon Class Order of Ismail awards with the standard Egyptian form of the sash. This seems logical as the awards from King Fuad I may have been given to emphasize that the Governor-Generals were serving Egypt's interests in the Sudan as a pointed criticism of Britain's condominium form of administration. They would have worn their regalia principally in relation to serving in that role. Now that you have educated me about this possibility, I will keep my eyes open should any indication that a choice of sash forms was possible in my future searches of auction examples and photos of individuals wearing the Order of Ismail. Edited February 11, 2020 by Rusty Greaves
Rusty Greaves Posted February 12, 2020 Author Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) Below is a low resolution image of a miniature of the Order of Ismail from a current Liverpool Medals auction (https://www.liverpoolmedals.com/product/order-of-ismail-commander), SKU L28804. The auction description correctly identifies it as a 3rd Class award and provides measurements of 30 mm (height) x 20 mm (width). There is no additional information except a condition statement provided in the description. The 3rd Class Commander is denoted by the silver galon and rosette on the ribbon. This example appears to be same mini I illustrated as the first of 2 miniature Order of Ismail in my post of 10 November, 2018 in very high-resolution photos of both minis. These 2 minis were listed on a 2018 auction of La Galerie Numismatique that also was featured on the Sixbid.com website (no longer archived on the internet). I also illustrated this same mini the as the 4th photo (only moderate resolution) of my post of 1 November, 2019 on this thread showing a moderate resolution image of that mini, along with the same 4th Class Knight mini that appeared in the 2018 La Galerie Numismatique auction, from an October 2018 Spink auction. The below illustrations add a photo of the reverse of this mini from the Liverpool Medals website, not present in the previous auction listings. This image of the obverse of this mini can be zoomed for a bit more detail. Compared with the very high-resolution image in my post of 10 November, 2018, the details of the rosette show that this is the identical ribbon. Other aspects of the faceted and rayed embellishment also show that this is the same miniature badge. The red stripes on the left side of the rosette show identical exposure and configuration of the blue threads with the 10 November image. Wear on the lower red stripe and the center blue one (between the upper red stripe) on the right margin of the rosette also are identical in the 10 November image of this miniature badge. Additionally, the parts of the crown suspension that appear red are the same as can be seen in the high-resolution 10 November illustration. The reverse of the same miniature Order of Ismail chest badge. None of the previous auction listings of this medal showed the reverse of this badge. No hallmarks are visible on the reverse of this low resolution image. Of interest, it shows the 2 piece construction with the facetted and rayed embellishment and crown suspension device as one piece and the gold (plated?) and enamel star as a separate component of the construction of this miniature. . Edited February 13, 2020 by Rusty Greaves
Rusty Greaves Posted March 4, 2020 Author Posted March 4, 2020 (edited) I have found a few higher-resolution images of a different example of the J. Lattes folding business advertisement flyer that I illustrated as the first 3 images in my post of 25 April, 2019 on this thread (I also included the image of the first page of that advertisement as the 6th photo in my post of 12 November, 2019). The three photos below come from an auction listing of 11 August, 2019, Lot 28 of One Source Auctions (https://www.onesourceauctions.com/auction-lot/Antique-c.-1900-s-Lattes-Jeweler-Oriental-Egypt_8764E15B9F/), also archived on the AuctionZip website (https://www.auctionzip.com/auction-lot/lot_8764E15B9F). The One Source Auctions (and AuctionZip) description provides no information on this advertisement beyond its dimensions, given as 5 .25 " (inches) X 4". This is a different, more pristine, example of this folding card than the one I illustrated from the eBay auction offering of 18 July, 2018, that has someone's numeric calculations on the first page and some water-staining of all 3 pages. The 2018 eBay listing identified the dimensions of this card as measuring 4" X 5-3/8" when folded and 5-3/8" X 8" when opened. That 2018 eBay listing included a moderate resolution image of the first page of the J. Lattes advertisement, but only lower-resolution images of the center map and back page illustrations that make up the the other 2 folding advertisement card pages. In my post of 12 November, 2019 on this thread, I mentioned that I had seen another version of this advertisement, probably the one illustrated below, as a very low-resolution image in a listing on the invaluable.com website (https://www.invaluable.com/advertising-general/sc-LY1J4TXKAW/?page=73) that was not worth posting here as it added no visible details to what I had been able to show from the 2018 eBay auction photos I posted in my November 2019 post. I believe both of those former auction listings (on eBay and invaluable.com) are no longer archived online. All 3 of the pages shown below can be zoomed for additional details. Front page of the One Source Auctions illustration of the early 20th century J.Lattes folding advertising card. This image, and the two below, can be zoomed for greater detail. Interior folded page from the One Source Auctions listing showing a map of Cairo with the location of J. Lattes shop shown just above the fold in black ink. (also see the contemporary map of this portion of Cairo from a tourist flyer for the Victoria Hotel & New Khedival that I illustrated as the 4th photo in my post about this J. Lattes advertisement on 25 April, 2019. I also included a discussion about the location of Lattes shop in that post). Back page of the J. Lattes advertising flyer from One Source Auctions listing showing Egyptian Khedivate era (1834-1914) coin currency with American $ conversion values (for the Egyptian piastre). I am unclear why these are illustrated. Perhaps this chart was considered a handy currency conversion for tourist. The presence of a map inside the flyer and the currency conversion may have been an entrepreneurial hook to make this advertising flyer useful or popular with tourist visitors to Cairo. I think it is less likely that these currency illustrations also might be in the flyer because numismatic jewelry may have been popular with European tourists visiting Egypt. The coins illustrations do assist in roughly dating the printing and potential use of this flyer to prior to the change in coin currency forms under the Sultanate (1914-1922). Edited March 5, 2020 by Rusty Greaves
Rusty Greaves Posted March 6, 2020 Author Posted March 6, 2020 (edited) While I am on the J. Lattes shop in Cairo, I have a minor amount of information to add in my search to find out more about Lattes. I am constantly surprised that it is so difficult to find out very much at all about this man who is responsible for the fabrication of so many important and beautiful Egyptian awards! I have had much better luck finding out about the designer and several manufacturers of the Egyptian Mixed Courts' badges for judges and other court officials (that I have posted on my thread "Egyptian Khedivate Judge's Badge question" here on GMIC) than anything about J. Lattes. I apologize for cluttering up this thread with some non-medal information, but I am interested in looking for more background on this elusive jeweler. I recently found an example of a set of gold and turquoise cufflinks made by J. Lattes that are curated in the Hallwyl Museum in Stockholm Sweden. The reason this cased set of cufflinks is in the collection is because it was a gift to the husband of the woman who donated the building and its contents to the Swedish State as the initial basis of the material in the collections (http://hallwylskamuseet.se/en). The Hallwyl family obtained the cufflinks during a family tourism trip to Egypt. They left Sweden on 5 November, 1900, arriving in Port Said Egypt on 17 November and toured Egypt and the Sudan through 27 March, 1901 when they began the return journey to Sweden through Palestine (https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/wQzZaEl9). Color image from the Hallwyl Museum catalog of a set of cufflinks made by J. Lattes and purchased for Walther Von Hallwyll in Cairo as a Christmas present by his wife, Wilhelmina von Hallwyl (http://emuseumplus.lsh.se/eMuseumPlus?service=direct/1/ResultDetailView/result.tab.link&sp=10&sp=Scollection&sp=SelementList&sp=0&sp=0&sp=999&sp=SdetailView&sp=0&sp=Sdetail&sp=0&sp=F&sp=SdetailBlockKey&sp=5 ). The family spent Christmas Eve, 1900 in the Savoy Hotel, where they stayed throughout their visit in Cairo, which was when Wilhelmina von Hallwyl gave the J. Lattes cufflinks to her husband. These were purchased at the J. Lattes shop on El Manak Street (Sharia el Manak) in Cairo, probably on 22 December as Countess von Hallwyl and her female traveling companion visited markets, bazaars, and shops buying antiquity souvenirs, jewelry, and equipment for their upcoming Nile boat trip. This chain link backing-style cufflinks' materials are gold with green turquoise cabochon in both. They each individually weigh 3.7 g and measure: the gold & turquoise cufflink face each=1.4 cm long X 1.0 wide; and the fusiliform backings each=2.4 cm L X 0.05 cm wide. The catalog inventory number is: XXX:I:E.a.08. The brief mention of the J. Lattes shop in the Jeweler's Circular (that I've previously cited a couple times on this thread mentioning Egyptian jewelers in part II of an article by Chas Crossman begun on June 23, 1897 page 41, 44 that is continued on July 14, 1897 on pages 8-9) states that turquoise jewelry was both popular and a specialty seen in Lattes shop. After discussing Native Egyptian jewelry in the bazaars, Crossman writes (ibid., page 9): "Leaving our Oriental friends, we will notice briefly the trade as it is carried on in the European quarters, or on the border of it where both native trade and European trade are catered to. Perhaps the best store of this latter class is that of M. J. Lattes, at the beginning of the Muski. His store, though small, is very attractive. In Cairo the turquoise is the most popular of all colored stones and Mr. Lattes has some extremely handsome pieces mounted with turquoise alone or with diamonds. Nowhere outside of Cairo can one see so much and so many large pieces of turquoise jewelry. There are several other smaller European jewelry houses in this locality." A lower-resolution black & white image of one of the same cufflinks from the Hallwyl Museum (https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-cuff-links-that-walther-von-hallwyl-got-for-christmas-jeweller-j-lattes-cairo/UQGthZHR-DD0Cg), that is part of a curated online exhibit of the Hallwyl trip to Egypt. This shows the elegant offset design of the turquoise cabochon that is not evident in the color photo from the museum catalogue. This museum image cannot be downloaded in its entirety, but it shows both cufflinks and the top of the case lid for this set. There is no image of the interior of the case with the J. Lattes name. The case is described as rectangular, wooden with an exterior covering of dark brownish red silk velvet, with an interior lining of black silk velvet (probably the bed), and white silk (probably the case lid). The push release latch is made of brass. The case measures 8.0 cm long X 5.0 cm wide X 3.2 cm tall. The Hallwyll Museum also has 2 examples of the Egyptian Order Of Mohammed Ali, of the Supreme Class (Collar and Grand Cordon). The Supreme Class was awarded to King Gustav V of Sweden (19 June, 1938). The other Supreme Class Order of Mohammed Ali was awarded to Gustav VI when he was Crown Prince Gustave Adolf (23 December, 1938). The one catalogue photo of a hallmark on the reverse of Crown Prince Gustav Adolf's Order of Mohammed Ali breast star shows a date hallmark of "W", indicating manufacture in 1921-1922. The Hallwyll Museum catalogue identifies the Supreme Order of Mohammed Ali awarded to Gustav V as having the Collar made by J. Lattes, but the Grand Cordon sash badge and breast star are listed as being made by Maison J. Lattes and L. Rosen & Cie. Perhaps only the case has such marking, it is unclear in the catalogue description. For Crown Prince Gustave Adolf's award, it appears from the catalogue description that the Collar (including the hexagonal gold badge suspended from the collar) are probably marked J. Lattes, but the case (for the Grand Cordon sash, sash badge, and breast star?) are probably marked "J. Lattes, L. Rosen & Cie." I have previously shown some "J. Lattes L. Rosen & Cie., Le Caire" labels inside cases for a few Order of the Nile awards (the 12th and 17th photos in my post of 21 October, 2019 on this thread). However, I still have no information about the relationship between Maison Lattes and L. Rosen & Cie. A note on an antique watch website (Good Old Watch) I came across recently suggests Lattes was awarded the Order of the Nile (https://www.goodoldwatch.com/it123-royal-minute-repeating-watch.html). No other information appears in this minimal discussion of a pocket watch with a rough date of the 1910s that is identified as having belonged to King Fuad I (the case is engraved with his cipher and the Princely Crown) and as being marked J. Lattes, Geneva and Cairo. Edited March 7, 2020 by Rusty Greaves
Rusty Greaves Posted March 23, 2020 Author Posted March 23, 2020 (edited) I have found another image of one of the Order of Ismail miniatures that I illustrated in the 1st photo of my post of 10 November, 2018 on this thread. On 12 February, 2020 I illustrated the reverse (and obverse) of the 3rd Class Commander miniature in the 10 November, 2018 high resolution image (left image) of the obverse of two Order of Ismail miniatures. Below is the illustration of the reverse (and obverse) of the 4th Class Knight Order of Ismail miniature from that same photo (although in my post of 10 November, 2018 I mistakenly identified this mini as the 4th Class "Officer" rather than Knight mini). This comes from a listing of a 8 January, 2020 auction by Heritage Auctions Europe (lot 4593) that is archived on the on the-saleroom.com website (https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/mpo/catalogue-id-mpo-mu10002/lot-e12f6a1a-b1cf-4f13-8be2-ab3600ab5f08). The same 3rd Class Commander Order of Ismail miniature I illustrated here on 12 February, 2020 from the Liverpool Medals auction also is archived here as Lot 4592 from the same Heritage Suctions Europe auction of 8 January, 2020. I am illustrating the 4th Class miniature bellow as another image documenting the reverse of the mini showing the same 2-part construction fairly well as shown for the 3rd class example shown above (12 February). I apologize for this duplicate post with the one on Owain's thread of "Miniatures of the Middle East & Arab World", but wanted to keep this Order of Ismail thread updated. Obverse and reverse of the same 4th Class Order of Ismail miniature as shown in the right image (obverse only) of the high-resolution miniature per I illustrated here on 10 November, 2018. Although the above image from the-saleroom.com archived listing of the Heritage Auctions Europe 8 January 2020 auction (Lot 4593) is not a high-resolution photo (as is the sixbid.com image shown in my 10 November, 2018 post), details of the rosette and ribbon show this is the same miniature medal. I also illustrated this same miniature as the 5th photo (a very-high resolution image that can be zoomed for excellent detail, also from the sixbid.com website) of my post of 18 December 2018. Note the prominent red thread attaching the central portion of the rosette, and the folds of the wrapping of the margins of the rosette in the 5:30 and 11:30 positions. Also note the identical position of the small tear or hole in the superior margin of the folded part of the ribbon. Edited March 23, 2020 by Rusty Greaves
Rusty Greaves Posted March 28, 2020 Author Posted March 28, 2020 (edited) I am currently enjoying my 2nd week of quarantine here in Toulouse, France. While I have plenty of professional data entry I am doing on some of my information from my anthropological fieldwork in Venezuela with Savanna hunter-gatherers, there is also time to catch up on some of my other pedantry- This is a follow-up to my post on this thread of 31 January, 2020 about the anomalous engraving on the gold and blue enameled arms of two examples of breast stars of the Order of Ismail (on a 1st Class Grand Cordon set and the other a 2nd Class Grand Officer set). In that post, I included a moderate resolution image of the neck badge (along with the breast star) of the Grand Officer set with this unusual engraving from an illustration on Hassan Kamal-Kelisi’s Morali’s flickr photostream and noted that the same image appeared in three separate listings of La Galerie Numismatique auctions in 2013 that are archived on the Liveauctioneers.com website. I also noted in my 31 January post that these are some of the most commonly downloaded and re-posted images of the Order of Ismail, despite the very anomalous engraving on the gold floral design elements on the gold and blue enamel arms of the star (and that I also had inadvertently used them as exemplars of the 2nd Class Grand Officer award in my posts here: the 6th photo in my post of 13 November, 2017, and the 2nd photo of my post of 3 December, 2018). I posted the photos associated with those 3 auctions March, June, and September 2013 La Galerie Numismatique auctions (where this set was not purchased on any of the 3 auctions) in my post of 2 February, 2020 on this thread. I have reviewed the best higher-resolution images of sash and neck badges that I have found, principally on auction sites that show relevant variation in the execution of the engraving and some additional design aspects worth noting. I have not encountered another example of a sash badge or neck badge with this unusual form of engraving on the gold floral design elements of the five star arms. I have seen some slight variation in the more common style of engraving that I wish to detail below. I have previously included some of these images, but there are some design variations that I did not appreciate previously about several of these examples. The only other significant variations that are evident in this regalia are shown below on: 1). The form of the wreath of one 1st Class Grand Cordon sash badge example made by Tewfik Bichay that also is the same as that on the first image below of the La Galerie Numismatique Grand Cordon set with anomalous engraving (the 3rd-to-last image in this post); that same wreath configuration is also oddly present on a neck badge example otherwise attributed to J. Lattes manufacture (4th-to-last photo on this post); and as one unattributed neck badge with the same form of wreath (shown in the 5th-to-last photo of this post); 2). the photos of a 3rd Class Commander neck badge example made by Fahmy Tewfik Bichay that were provided by Owain in his post of 5 April, 2018 on this thread (the 2nd & 3rd images of his post showing the obverse of this neck badge) that shown are shown here as the 2nd-to-last photo of this post. Neck badge of a set (including the neck badge with ribbon and breast star, but no case) identified as a Lattes-made Order of Ismail 2nd Class Grand Officer from three La Galerie Numismatique auction listings of 4 March, 2013 (Lot 0185); 24 June, 2013 (Lot 0442); 21 September, 2013 (Lot 0300); Archived on the Liveauctioneers website (https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/18004070_order-of-ismail). Each of these listed lots was passed each time. Identical information and photos were in each listing. The neck badge is identified as measuring 60 mm (no height given) and weighing 48.6 g. The breast star’s measurement is listed as 70 mm (diameter) and its weight as 81.25 g. These measurements are consistent with those given for other Grand Officer sets. Both pieces are noted as hallmarked, however the hallmarks are not identified. A photo of the reverse of both the neck badge and the breast star shows the “LATTES” name maker’s mark. The position of the three Egyptian gold hallmarks are in the usual position below the Lattes name, but the photo resolution is too poor to distinguish them and identify the date hallmark. This is currently the only photo I have encountered of this unusual form of engraving on the gold floral elements on any sash badge or neck badge. I included an uncropped version of this image (showing the whole neck ribbon) as the 1st photo in my post of 2 February 2020 and an image of the reverse of this sash badge and associated breast star as the 2nd photo in that post, in a follow-up to the 31 January discussion of the anomalous engraving seen on 2 Order of Ismail breast star examples. See my description detailing what is odd about this engraving in the first 4 paragraphs and first 3 photos of the 31 January, 2020 post and the discussion of other variation on the breast stars in that post (all relevant to these images posted here as well). The anomalous engraving on the above example is nearly identical to that seen in the Grand Cordon and Grand Officer set discussed in the 31 January post. The only noticeable differences are: 1) the base of the stems for the central dual flowers of the neck badge is a circle with a circular dimple, rather than an ovate form with a oval dimple 2) there are no interior lines on the 2 stems of those 2 central flowers distal of the basal round design element, unlike both the Fritz Rudolf Künker anomalously engraved example and the breast star associated with this neck badge shown in the La Galerie Numismatique illustrations. This difference is probably only because of the smaller size of the arms on the neck badge than on the two breast stars. One aspect of this I did not mention in my 31 January post about this odd engraving on the breast stars is that the lines appear thinner and look as though they are cast or formed with an electric engraving tool into the gold floral decorations of the arms rather than being engraved with hand scribes in the same way as the Lattes and Tewfik Bichay examples look. The high resolution image of the Fritz Rudolf Künker example in the 1st photo of my 31 January, 2020 post (that can be zoomed for better detail) shows this much better than the La Galerie Numimatique example here or in that post. The other significant difference seen in this example (compared with most Lattes examples) is the form of the wreath forming the outer border of the central calligraphic boss of the medallion. This exhibits a configuration seen only in one 3rd Class neck badge attributed to Lattes from an eMedals auction of 23 July, 2019 (Item M0306-1) and on the sash badge and breast star of a 1st Class Grand Cordon example made by Tewfik Bichay from a Fall 2014 Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG auction. Both of those examples are illustrated below in this post. The gold dot fruits of the wreath are present in different numbers and configurations than on all other Lattes examples (but identical to the 2 examples just mentioned). The thinner and less evenly executed gold margins of the gold and red band design elements around the wreath also do not match most Lattes examples, but are the same as the odd eMedals neck badge attributed to Lattes, and the Tewfik Bichay (shown in the 15th and 16th photos below in this post). Additionally, the leaves of the wreath are formed slightly differently than the other Lattes examples and appear to be covered with a thinner and less deeply emerald-colored green enamel than on any other Lattes-made Order of Ismail regalia. I noted in my post of 31 January, 2020 that some genuine Lattes breast stars appear to have a similar configuration of the gold fruit dots in the wreath to those on the anomalously engraved La Galerie Numismatique example shown in the 3rd photo of my 31 January post (and the image of that same breast star form Hassan Kamal-Kelisi Morali’s flickr site shown as the 2nd photo of that post), but not to the anomalous configuration of the Künker Auction 331, Lot 1074 30 January 2020 auction shown in the 1st photo of my 31 January post. It appears that the 4th Class Knight chest badges made by Lattes do show some of these same differences in the distribution of the gold dot fruits, having the gold and red enamel bands appearing to have thinner gold margins and narrow channels for the red enamel. I am reviewing the fewer auction site photos I have of 4th Class badges, and expect to have shorter contribution on those design variations here soon. Given the size differences of the Knights’ chest badge (usually reported to be between 54-55 mm wide in diameter), it is unclear whether their wreaths could have been used on any sash or neck badges as replacement or repair components. The anomalous engraving on the arms of the star of this piece (and its associated breast star) and the unusual wreath configuration (also present on the breast star of this set that I discussed in my post of 31 January, 2020) may further support the notion that this is a chimeral construction of Lattes, Tewfik Bichay, and possibly some other source for the unusual form of engraving seen on the gold and blue enamel star arms. The number of anomalies in this set strongly suggests to me it is not a genuine variant from the J. Lattes workshop. This is a very high-resolution photo of an Order of Ismail neck badge from a 16 April, 2017 auction by Bukowskis (https://www.bukowskis.com/en/lots/906427-the-order-of-ismail-nischan-al-ismail-22k-gold-lattes-in-kairo-1928-1928-weight-ca-47-g). It is not identified whether this is a 3rd Class Commander neck badge or an isolated neck badge from a 2nd Class set. The measurements provided for this badge are 8.5 cm high (“from the loop” which I unsure if it means including the most distal portion of the suspension loop, and not from the crescent and star portion of the crown design) x 6 cm wide. Photos of the reverse show the "LATTES" maker’s mark, and the 3 Egyptian gold hallmarks in their normal position for Lattes examples. The date hallmark is “D”=1929-1930. This image can be zoomed for excellent detail of the design of this neck badge. I previously illustrated a cropped close-up of the crown suspension device of this piece as the 10th photo of my post of 22 February, 2019 on this thread. The 1st photo of my post of 26 February 2019 shows a closer cropped image of that crown suspension device from this neck badge (for comparison with a named 4th Class Knight Order of Ismail badge with a poorly made replacement crown suspension replacement). The distal flower shows 3 engraved lines on each of the lateral side of the flower and a single engraved line within the central petal portion of this flower. The proximal origin point of the 2 central flowers is a round gold outline and this high resolution image shows a triangular punch mark as the engraving (this level of detail is not visible in any other image of a neck or sash badge shown in this post) and 2 straight lines are engraved in the stems touching or almost touching the most proximal of the 3 lateral lines on each of the 2 central flowers. The distal end of each of these flowers has a more medially oriented engraved line. Some examples shown below have 2 thin engraved lines that isolate the central petal of each of these 2 central flowers, but that is less common than the form seen on this neck badge. The lowest central portion of the proximal “leaf” motif nearest the wreath frame of the central medallion is a singly engraved line. Note that the minor variations in the engraved design shown here (an din my post of 31 January about the breast stars) may emphasize that these have been engraved with hand-held scribes rather than either cast or engraved with an electrical tool to This photo, and especially the next close-up image of the central medallion of this same badge, show the configuration of the wreath design very clearly and in great detail. The distribution and number of gold fruit dots in the wreath is the common form for almost all Lattes 1stClass sash badges, and the 2nd and 3rd Class neck badges. The gold and red enamel bands around the wreath show even and robust gold margins, and a wider central channel for the red enamel than seen on the La Galerie Numismatique example above. This image, and then next close-up also show the thickness of the emerald green enamel and the depth of its coloration, in contrast with the La Galerie Numismatique example above and the other design differences from (but also seen in the anomalous wreath on the eMedals Item M0306-1 Lattes neck badge from the 23 July, 2019 auction, the unattributed neck badge of the Hassan Kamal Kelisi’s flickr photostream 3rd Class Commander neck badge, and the Tewfik Bichay made 1st Class Grand Cordon sash badge from a Fall 2014 Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG auction, all shown below in this post). Very-high resolution close up image of the central medallion of the same J. Lattes made Order of Ismail neck badge from the 16 April, 2017 auction by Bukowskis as shown above. This image also can be zoomed for even greater detail. This shows quite well the number and distribution of the gold fruit dots in the wreath around the central inscription of “Ismail” on the medallion central boss. It also provides excellent detail on the design and execution of the gold and red enamel bands around the wreath, the form of the leaves in the wreath, and the rich color and depth of the green enamel of the wreath. Because there is a comparably high-resolution image of the wreath of an Order of Ismail breast star, I am including it here to show the different configuration of the gold fruit dots on the Lattes breast stars. This example is from a 6 April, 2017 auction by Bukowskis (https://www.bukowskis.com/en/lots/906427-the-order-of-ismail-nischan-al-ismail-22k-gold-lattes-in-kairo-1928-1928-weight-ca-47-g). Although the class of this breast star is not identified, the diameter measurement is given as 7 cm, indicating it is a 2nd Class Grand Officer breast star. This form is consistent with the majority of Lattes-made examples in my post of 31 January, 2020This particular breast star is illustrated as the photo in that 31 January post. I have previously included this image as the 2nd photo in my post of 2 November 2018 on this thread. The most readily identifiable difference between the Lattes made breast star and the sash and neck badges wreath configuration is the 7 gold dot fruits and their arrangement in the inferior panel of this breast star at the point where the 2 wreath branches cross, compared with 9 dots on the Lattes sash and neck badges with a different configuration. The lower right side panel of the Bukowskis breast star has 14 gold fruit dots while the Bukowskis neck badge has 13. The other panels all exhibit the same number of gold fruit dots in each panel: the upper right has 13; the upper left of each as 13; and the lower left has 13 (although in the above photo of the wreath on the Bukowskis neck badge, the gold fruit dot of this lower left panel that is most near the lower exterior frame margin of the wreath, next to the gold and red enamel band is covered by green enamel, other examples show that this is a 13thfruit dot; for example, in the Spink & Son, Lot 319 example shown below that can be zoomed, this gold fruit dot is visible with less enamel covering). Although the number of gold fruit dots is the same in each of these panels, except the most inferior central and lower right ones, their placement is slightly different between the neck badge and breast star. There is a single gold fruit dot in the most superior portion of the wreath of the Bukowski breast star, between the uppermost gold and red enamel bands. This can be seen on some of the examples shown in my post of 31January, 2020, although the eMedals breast star example in the 7thphoto of that post appears to have deeper enamel covering this feature. Above is a very high-resolution image of an Order of Ismail Lattes-made neck badge from a Fritz Rudolf Künker auction of 4 October, 2014 (Action 253, Lot 1513) that is archived on the acsearch.info webiste (https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=2146041). The auction description identifies this as a 3rd Class Commander neck badge, states that the reverse is marked with a Lattes maker’s mark, a Cairo assay office mark for “750” gold (18 karat), the “bird” (ibis” mark used prior to 1946), and a date hallmark of “A” for 1926 (1925-1926). I previously illustrated this neck badge as the 2nd photo in my post of 31 October, 2018 on this thread. The description notes the presence of the Cairo assay office hallmark on the reverse of the crown suspension device and attachment ring, and the ibis hallmark on the suspension ring. No photos of the reverse are present in the auction listing. This Commander neck badge shows the common form of the engraving of the gold floral elements on this regalia element, with one notable variation. Note that the most distal flowers exhibits 3 lateral marks on each side of the centerline (seen in several other Lattes examples) and a unique oval terminus of the central petal. This distal loop in the terminal flower is not seen on any other high-resolution photos of Lattes neck or sash badges I have seen from auction site listings. The basal portion of the 2 central flowers is a circle (not the lozenge-shape seen on the breast stars) and there are no lines in the 2 stems distal of the basal point for the flower stems. The engraved lines are quite graceful in this example. Although the engraved loop line of the central petal and the lack of size graduation of the 3 lateral engraved lines of this distal flower are different from the La Galerie Numismatique example that also is hallmarked "A" (shown in the next photo of this post), the beauty of the engraving of these 1925-1926 examples from the J. Lattes workshop is noteworthy. The wreath on sash badges (1st Class) and neck badges (2nd Class and 3rd Class) band sash badges made by Lattes show a different distribution of the gold dot fruits than on the 1st Class Grand Cordon and 2nd Class Grand Officer breast stars. On the above example, the wreath configuration is the most commonly seen pattern on these J. Lattes sash and neck badges. The pattern of the gold dot fruits of the wreath surrounding the inscribed central medallion is the pattern seen most examples with attributions to Lattes. The gold and red enamel bands of the wreath have a relatively thick, though very even, definition and the area between the margins with red enamel is somewhat wider than in the above La Galerie Numismatique piece’s bands around the wreath. Order of Ismail neck badge from a 19 April, 2017 auction by La Galerie Numismatique, archived on thesaleroom.com website (https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/numismatique/catalogue-id-la-gal10005/lot-a3c25951-5f0d-4f3b-bc2b-a74500e2796a), Auction 33, lot 721. This high resolution image can be zoomed for good detail of the engraving and details of the wreath element. The original image on thesaleroom.com website can be enlarged for a much clearer view of the engraving than this version I was able to download. I have not previously included this photo on GMIC, but I did previously include an image of the reverse of this badge as the 17th photo in my post of 11 January, 2019 showing the "LATTES" name and the 3 Egyptian hallmarks. The date hallmark on this piece is "A"=1925-1926. The auction description identifies this neck badge as 81 mm (high) x 62 mm (wide) with a weight of 47.8 g. The description identifies this as a 3rd Class Commander neck badge. No case is associated with this offering. The engraving of the gold floral decorations of the arms shows 3 lateral engraved marks on each side of the terminal flower and a single engraved line in the central petal. Each of the central 2 flowers have 3 engraved lines on their lateral sides and a single engraved line coming off of the uppermost lateral engraving into the most medial petal of each flower. The 3 lateral lines of each of the 5 most distal terminal flowers' lateral margins show a gracefully executed gradual increase in sized from the most proximal to distal set that adds an elegance not seen in other examples of engraving on these pieces. The proximal origin point of these 2 central flowers has a single engraved line running distally toward the separation of the gold outline of the 2 central flowers. There are no lines within the individual stems on these 2 central flower elements. The proximal central "bud" where the basal leaves originate has a single engraved line running distally. The engraved curling lines of the leaves are particularly lively in their execution on this piece, with elegant curls at their terminations. The engraving is not completely "perfect", but it exhibits a compositional care and grace. Overall, the engraving on this particular neck badge is very beautifully and carefully done. The eMedals neck badge example shown below in the 13th photo of this post (with a date hallmark also of "A"), may exhibit similar balance in the engraving, but the resolution of that photo is not good enough be certain. Details of the higher resolution image of the "LATTES" maker's mark, the Egyptian gold hallmarks, and scratches on the reverse (included with the auciton listings of each of these badges) make it appear that these are not the same pieces (although the lighting on those reverse images is quite different). The engraving may look similar for being the work of the same artisan, but without a better image of the eMedals neck badge that is just speculation. The wreath margin of the central inscribed medallion boss is the usual form seen of the gold dot fruit distribution for most Lattes examples, and this photo shows that pattern well. The gold and red enamel bands around the wreath have even, robust margins and the red enamel space is the same proportion seen in most of the images in this post. There is no overflow of any red enamel at the crossing points of any of the bands High-resolution image of an Order of Ismail neck badge from a 19 November, 2015 auction by Spink & Son, Lot 319) archived on the saleroom website (https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/spink/catalogue-id-srspi10063/lot-27ae7624-fe96-4fb4-baab-a53f010b1400). The auction listing states this example is a 3rd Class Commander made by Lattes (neck badge and ribbon only, it is not associated with a case), its measurements are given as 78 mm (high), including the crown suspension, x 61 mm (wide), and has a date hallmarked 1924 (date hallmark not shown). No photo of the reverse is provided in the auction listing. I have not illustrated this example before on GMIC. This example varies from the above Fritz Rudolf Künker neck badge in having only 2 lateral engraved marks on the terminal flower design element and a single straight line within the petal terminus rather than the unusual oval outline of the Künker example. It also has a more straight-line engraving in the basal origin of the stems of the 2 central floral design elements and has thin lines within each of those stems. The middle 2 flowers exhibit an additional engraved line; there are the 3 engraved lines on each flower’s medial side, and then 2 lines appear to outline the central petal (especially visible on the 2 central flowers of the lower right arm of the star). The curls of the engraving of the basal “leaf” elements at the portion of the arm closest to the central medallion frame, and those sweeping down from the terminal distal flower exhibit less tight a curl and a lack of a terminal punch dot than the Künker badge shows. Overall, the feel of this engraving is less flowing, in my idiosyncratic artistic view, than that seen on the Künker neck badge. This photo shows particularly well the distribution of the gold dot fruits in the wreath compared with any other images I have encountered. They show the same patters as on the other Lattes examples (except the eMedals Item M0306-1 shown below) and the Künker neck badge. There appears to be some spillover of the red enamel at the points where the bands cross, and perhaps this makes the gold margins of the crossed bindings of the wreath around the central inscribed medallion appear thinner than on the Künker badge. High-resolution image of a 2nd Class Grand Officer neck badge illustrated on the Stacks Bower’s Gallery auction of 15 November, 2012 that is archived on Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/298433912792222444/?nic=1) and also on the acsearch.info website (https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1430371). The acsearch.info listing shows this set as a neck badge without ribbon and breast star, and is associated with a leather covered case measuring 9 ½ inches long x 4 ¾ inches wide x 2 ¼ inch tall). I previously included this image from the Pinterest website as the 1st photo in my post of 22 April, 2018 and the breast star of this set as the 2nd photo in that post on this thread, both to show the engraving of the floral elements on the gold and blue enameled arms of the star elements of each. I also included this neck badge photo as the 1st image on my post of 19 October, 2019 on this thread also to illustrate the engraving on the gold floral designs on the gold and enamel decoration of the neck badges and breast star of the Order of Ismail (and the associated breast star is shown in the 2ndphoto of that same post). The auction description identifies the dimensions of the (neck) badge as 78.3 (apparently mm, although the case dimensions were given in inches) x 51. 3 (mm) with a weight 0f 46.4 g. The height dimension is within the normal reported range, but the width is 10 mm smaller than the most commonly reported range of 60-62 mm. No dimensions of the breast star are given. Both pieces are identified as having date hallmarks of “C”=1928-1929. No photos of the reverse are provided, but the "LATTES" maker's mark is stated to be present. This photo shows that the engraving of the terminal flower has 3 engraving marks on each lateral side and a single line at the terminal petal. This example shows deeper terminal ends to the curling engraved lines within the basal ”leaf” designs and the curls sweeping from the terminal flower downwards toward the frame of the central medallion, more like the engraving on the Künker neck badge than the Spink & Son badge. The engraving is quite elegant and composed with a good sense of movement. The gold dots fruits in the wreath are the same as in the other examples, and the gold & red enamel bands are even and most like those on the Künker 2014 auction example. Above is a high-resolution image of a 2nd Class Grand Officer neck badge of the Order of Ismail that is from a 19 April, 2017 La Galerie Numismatique auction (https://www.coins-la-galerie-numismatique.com/auction-33-day-1/order-ismail), Auction 33, Lot 720. This photo can be zoomed for additional detail. This example is from a cased set awarded to Dr. Giovanni Quirico that includes the unfortunately mis-repaired breast star I most recently illustrated as the 6th photo in my post of 31 January, 2020 to show variation in engraving and the wreath element in the high resolution image of that breast star. I have not previously posted the above image here on GMIC because of the incorrect offset of the inscribed central boss, however this image is useful here as it shows the engraving and wreath configuration of this Lattes example quite well. I have previously illustrated this neck badge in its case with the breast star as the 4th photo of my post of 14 November, 2017, and the brevet and envelope of this set is shown in the 5th and 6th photos of that post on this thread. I also posted that same photo of this neck badge and associated breast star in their case as the 23rd photo in my post of 19 October, 2019. I illustrated a close-up image of hallmarks on the reverse of the suspension link between the superior arm of the star and the crown suspension device of this neck badge in the 11th photo in my post of 11 January, 2019, the hallmarks on the reverse of the suspension loop of this piece as the 12th photo in that post, in addition to images of the hallmarks on the tunic pin of the breast star of this set (my previous postings of photos of the breast star are references in the 31 January, 2020 post discussing the breast star). Photos of the reverse of this neck badge show the “LATTES” maker’s mark. The auction description identifies the neck badge as measuring 82 mm (high) x 62 mm (wide). This set has the award brevet and envelope addressed to “Dr. Giovanni Quirico, (Médecin de L. M. le Roi)”. The date hallmarks on the neck badge and breast star are “Z”=1924-1925. The engraving on this Grand Officer neck badge shows 2 engraving marks on each lateral side of the terminal flower and a straight line within the central petal. Both central flowers have 3 engraved marks on their lateral sides and the 2 engraved lines that outline the central petal on each of the central flowers. The proximal origin of the 2 central flowers is round with a horizontal or punched mark and there are lines within both stems that terminate as the lowest (most proximal) of the 3 lateral engraved marks in each of the central flowers. The most proximal central “bud” portion of the gold floral design where the basal leaves originate has amore robust engraving than on most examples, but I cannot determine whether it is a single or dual line. The wreath exhibits the normal Lattes configuration of gold fruit dots and the gold and red enamel bands around the wreath. These bands show overflow of the red enamel at each of the central crossing of the bands, and the channels with red enamel appear very full in this image. The central inscribed medallion boss shows it has been displaced, with the upper portion deflected to the viewer’s left, so that the central superior portion of calligraphic “Ismail” inscription is oriented to the ~11:00 rather than 12:00 position. Like the breast star of this set, this neck badge has had a few bad knocks, but remains a complete set in its case with the associated brevet. Moderate-resolution photo of a 2nd Class Grand Officer neck badge from a December, 2017 eBay auction (https://www.ebay.com/itm/EGYPT-ORDER-OF-THE-ISMAIL-2ND-CLASS-GRAND-OFFICER-ORIGINAL-CASE-RIBBON-RARE/222734299477?hash=item33dbffb155:g:5jQAAOSwQwBZkILL) of a cased set of the neck badge with ribbon and breast star, that does not appear to be archived any longer on the internet. I previously illustrated the reverse of this badge in the 23rd photo of my post of 11 January, 2019 on this thread, and included several images of this set my post of 19 October, 2019. I have not previously posted the above image from that eBay listing. Photos of the reverse show the "LATTES" maker's marks on the neck badge and breast star. I included photos of hallmarks on the reverse of the breast star of this set as the 21st-22nd photos in my 11 January, 2018 post. I illustrated the case lid for this set as the 17th photo in my post of 19 October, 2019. I included 2 images of the neck badge and breast star in the medal bed of their case as the 18th-19th photos of that same post; a close-up of the neck badge in the medal bed as the 20th photo (not showing the design details as well as the above image); a close-up of the breast star in the medal bed as the 21st photo; and an image of the decorated push release catch on the case as the 22nd photo in that same post of 19 October, 2019. The reverse of this neck badge has a date hallmark of “Z”, indicating assay evaluation of 1924-1925 (23rd photo of my post of 11, January, 2019, with the same date hallmark on the associated breast star of this set). The engraving on the arms shows 2 engraved lines on the lateral margins of the most distal terminal flower on each arm flower and a straight line within the central petal of that flower. The middle 2 flowers do not appear to have the central petal isolated with 2 engraved marks, but look like those of the 2nd Class Grand Officer neck badge from the Stacks Bower’s Gallery auction of 15 November, 2012. This example has a straight horizontal engraved line in the slightly oval base of the 2 central flowers proximal origin point, and there are separate engraved lines in each of the stems of those 2 flowers. The wreath configuration is normal for Lattes examples (exhibiting the same gold dot fruit distribution, the relatively broad and even gold margins of the gold and red binding decorative elements of the wreath, and the leaves form and deep emerald coloring of the enamel). There may be some overflow of the enamel at the crossing points of the bindings, but it is very hard to tell because of the lower resolution of these photographs. A high-resolution image of a sash badge of a 1st Class Grand Cordon set from a 3 April, 2018 auction of La Galerie Numismatique (https://www.coins-la-galerie-numismatique.com/auction-xxxviii-day-1/order-ismail), Lot 560 that also is archived on the Live Auctioneers website (https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/60483636_order-of-ismail). I included this image as the 3rd photo of my post of 22 February, 2019, along with other images from the LiveAuctioneers archived listing. Those included: the Grand Cordon set in its case (1st photo), the sash badge and breast star against the partially laid out sash (2nd photo), images of the reverse of the sash badge (4th photo), a close up of the hallmarks on the reverse of the crown suspension device and suspension loop (5th photo), the hallmarks on the reverse of the suspension link between the sash badge superior star arm and the crown suspension device (6th photo), a close-up of the Lattes maker’s mark and the three Egyptian gold hallmarks on the reverse of the sash badge (7th image) and an image of the breast star (8th photo) and its gold hallmarks on the reverse of one of the arms of the breast star (9th photo). I illustrated the obverse of this sash badge again as the 3rd photo in my post of January 15, 2020 (with an image of the cases sash badge, sash, and breast star as the 1stimage in that post; the semi-opened sash with sash badge and breast star as the 2nd photo [that 922F noted exhibited a British from of the decorative bow rather than the pinked bow margins seen on most Grand Cordon sashes of this award]; and the obverse of the breast star alone as the 4th photo). This cased set lacks only the award brevet. Photographs in the auction listing show the "LATTES" maker’s hallmark on the reverse of the sash badge. As noted in my previous posts, the sash badge has a date hallmark of “B”=1927-1928, and the breast star has a date hallmark of “C”=1928-1929. The dimensions of the sash bade are given as 85 mm (high) x 62 mm (wide). The above image of the sash badge shows the engraving on the floral elements particularly well, especially on the superior (12:00) position arm of the star. This shows the 3 lateral engraved marks of the distal flower and straight line in the central terminal petal. The 2 central flowers have 3 lateral engraved marks each and a single offset mark oriented to toward the terminus of the petals. The 2 central flowers are joined at the base by a circular origin point with a single straight line engraving, thickest at the basal most proximal portion, and no individual lines n each stem. All of the engraving marks on these 3 flowers are thickest at their “outside” margins (lateral and distal), likely showing the direction of their creation from the thicker initiation of a stylus mark toward the thinner termination. The gold dot fruits in the wreath have normal placement, and the red and gold binding elements have even gold margins with no spillover of the red enamel. Moderate resolution image of an Order of Ismail sash badge of a 1st Class Grand Cordon, from a past eMedals auction (https://www.emedals.com/egypt-order-of-ismail-w0269), Item W0269. This offering was the full sash & sash badge only, no breast star was associated with this Lot. I have previously illustrated this sash badge attached to the sash as the 3rd photo in my post of 13 November, 2017; the same image as above as the 4th photo in that post, and the reverse of this sash badge in the 5th photo of that post of 13 November, 2017. I included the image of this sash badge and sash as the 5th photo of my post of 15 January, 2020. The auction description identifies the badge measurement as 61.5 mm (wide) x 80 mm (high) inclusive of crown suspension. Illustrations of the reverse show the “LATTES” maker’s mark and the full set of Egyptian hallmarks in the usual position that identify the date as “A”=1925-1926. The above photo shows the use of 3 engraving marks on the most distal flower of each arm of the gold floral element (and a single straight line in the central terminal petal of that flower). The base of the origin for the 2 central flowers shows a straight line ascending from the most proximal portion of that circular distally in into the joint stem of the 2 central flowers, but no lines in each of the separate portions of those flower stems. This image shows the distribution of the gold dot fruits in the wreath quite well, exhibiting their normal distribution as seen on the other neck badge examples here. Also note some spillover of the red enamel of the crossing point of each binding design element on the wreath. The neck badge of an example from an eMedals auction (https://www.emedals.com/egypt-kingdom-an-order-of-ismail-in-gold-1st-class-commander-by-j-lattes-c-12400), Item EG814. This Lattes made example is identified as a 3rd Class Commander badge with its neck ribbon. I have previously illustrated several of the photos from this listing of the hallmarks on the reverse of this piece. The reverse neck badge showing the "LATTES" maker’s mark and the 3 Egyptian gold hallmarks is shown in the 14th photo of my post of 11 January, 2019 on this thread; the reverse of the crown suspension device with the Cairo office assay mark of 18 carat gold is shown in he 15th photo of that same post, and the 3 Egyptian gold hallmarks (and an addition non-Egyptian “585” gold assay mark, identifying 14 carat gold in conflict with Cairo assay office mark indicating determination of 18 carat gold) on the reverse of the suspension loop around the ribbon is shown in the 16th photo of that post (11 January, 2019). This neck badge is identified a 61 mm (wide) X 79.5 mm (high) including the crown suspension element, probably only to the distal portion of the crescent and star element. The date hallmark on the reverse is “A”=1925-26. The engraving of the most distal flower has 3 lateral engraved marks on each lateral side and a single engraved line at he distal petal. The line from the base of the 2 central flowers also is a straight line, either touching or almost touching the first (most proximal) of the 3 lateral engraved lines of each flower. As noted above in the discussion the Lattes neck badge from an April 2017 La Galerie Numismatique auction shown in the 6th photo of this post (also hallmarked "A"), this eMedals piece is quite similar in the details of the engraving and may exhibit some of the elegance seen in the engraving of that neck badge. The photo of the eMedals neck badge is not high enough resolution to determine whether these are the same pieces (although as noted above, associated images of the reverse at higher resolution appear to show differences). Given the comparable dates, these 2 pieces might be the work of the same very skilled engraver in the J. Lattes workshop. There may be some wear or damage to the crossings of the gold and red enamel wreath bindings in the 7:00 position, but no apparent runover of the red enamel outside of the even, gold margins of the binding design elements. There are no anomalies in the positions of the gold fruit dots in the wreath. Moderate-resolution photo of a cased example of a Lattes made 3rd Class Order Of Ismail neck badge from a 6 April, 2019 auction of Very Important Lot (https://veryimportantlot.com/en/lot/view/egypt-ismail-order-nischan-al-ismail-3-class-175085), Lot (1027). The auction description states the measurements as 83 mm (high) x 61 mm wide and its weight is 49.0 g. Photos of the reverse show the "LATTES" maker's mark as does an image of the interior case lid. I illustrated this badge in its case as the 1st photo of my post of 18 April, 2019, the same image as above as the 2nd photo, the reverse of the badge as the 3rd photo, a detail of the obverse of the crown suspension device as the 4th photo, an image of the reverse of the crown suspension device as the 5th photo showing the positions of the Cairo assay office single hallmark on the reverse of the crown and the position of the 3 Egyptian gold hallmarks on the suspension loop, and then 2 additional images of the case in that same post. I illustrated this neck badge in its case (obverse) as the 13th image in my post of 19 October, 2019 and the reverse resting on the case as the 14th photo in that same post. The date hallmark on this piece is “A”=1925-1926. The oblique view provides the best image of the engraving and wreath design on this badge. The image on the Very Important Lot website is slightly higher-resolution when zoomed than this version I could download. The close up image of the obverse of the crown suspension device shows some details of the engraving on the terminal most distal flower on the gold floral design of the arm of the star (4thphoto of my 18 April, 2019 post). The engraving is best seen on the lower right (~2:30 position) and upper left (~9:30 position) arms. This neck badge has 3 lateral engraved lines on each side of the terminal flower and a straight engraved line in the central petal. Each of the 2 central flowers exhibits the 3 engraved lines on their lateral margins and the more medially oriented engraving at the distal end of each flower. In the slightly clearer website image it is clear that there are no lines running the whole length of each stem of these 2 central flowers. The origin point of these 2 flowers has a single engraved line running from the round proximal origin point of their stems distally almost to the point where the gold divides into each flower. The wreath exhibits the normal Lattes configuration of the gold fruit dots and the gold and red enamel bands around the wreath. There is no overflow of red enamel at the point where the bands cross. Image of a 1StClass Grand Cordon Order of Imsail sash badge from the 2006 JOMSA 54 (4): Fig 15, page 20 article on this award. It appears to show 3 lateral engraving marks on the terminal distal flower of each arm with a straight line centered within the central petal. The proximal origin point of the 2 central flowers appears to show a dot and single line running distally, without separate engraved lines in each stem of the 2 flowers. The form of the wreath exhibits the same form of gold fruit dots, the robustness of the gold and red enamel bands around the wreath as shown here for all examples of sash badges and the majority of the Lattes neck badge examples. An example from Hassan Kamal-Kelisi’s Morali’s flickr photostream (https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/3051549576) that is identified as a 3rdClass Commander neck badge. The manufacturer is not identified, and no image of the reverse is provided. There are a couple differences in the engraving on the gold floral designs on the arms of the star of this example, but it is the wreath that exhibits distinctive variation not seen in most badges attributed securely to J. Lattes workmanship. As can be seen below, there is a strong possibility that this may the work of Tewfik Bichay. The 2 photos below (a 3rd Class neck badge from a July 2019 eMedals auction, Item M0306-1; and the other a 1st Class sash badge from a Fall 2014 Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG auction, Lot 1512) show this form of the wreath better. The Künker example includes images of the Tewfik Bichay maker’s hallmark, the eMedals example (below) shows Lattes hallmarks on the reverse, but I wonder if the wreath could have been repaired using a replacement wreath from a Bichay piece. In the above photo from Hassan Kamal-Kelisi’s Morali’s flickr photostream the most proximal portion of the gold floral design near the medallion frame shows 2 lines inside the central “bud”-like point where the 2 basal leaves originate rather than a single engraved mark as seen on most examples. The round base where the 2 central flowers originate has a dot engraving and no lines in the stems of the two central flowers. The most proximal-lateral (basal) portion of each of the 2 central flowers have a curl defining the lower portion of the flower that is only seen in the La Galerie Numismatique example with the highly anomalous engraving shown as the first photo in this post. The most distal single terminal flower appears to have 2 engraved marks on each lateral side of the flower, but may have 2 engraved lines within just proximal of the definition of central terminal petal (possibly visible in the lower left 7:00 position arm of the star?). The wreath clearly exhibits an uncommon from of the number and distribution of the gold dot fruits in the wreath (although not as clearly visible as in the 2 examples below and the first example in this post of the unusual La Galerie Numismatique example), more slender, slightly uneven gold and red enamel bands on the wreath, an possibly. It is difficult to see the different leaf treatment and enamel appearance in this example, although it appears similar to the 2 below and the La Galerie Numismatique example wreath configuration. Lower-quality image of a 3rd Class Commander neck badge of the Order of Ismail from a 23 July, 2019 eMedals auction (https://www.emedals.com/egypt-kingdom-an-order-of-ismail-in-gold-i-class-commander-by-j-lattes-c-1924), Item M0306-1. I previously included several images of this neck badge in my post of 22 August, 2019 without noticing the anomalous wreath on this example. My 22 August post shows this same photo as the 1st photo. In that same post (22 August) an oblique view is the 2nd photo; the reverse of the neck badge is the 3rd photo; an oblique view of thre reverse is the 4th photo; and a close-up image of the reverse showing the Lattes makers mark and 3 Egyptian gold hallmarks is the 5th image. The photos of the reverse of this neck badge show the "LATTES" maker’s mark, normal placement of the Egyptian gold hallmarks for Lattes pieces, and a date hallmark of “Y”=1923-1924. This example exhibits 2 lateral engraved lines in the distal flower, and a single straight line within the central terminal petal. The 2 central flowers have the 2 lines that separate the middle petal in each. The more lozenge-shaped origin point for these 2 flowers have a horizontal line engraving, and there are separate lines form this running through the stems of each flower. The gold and red enamel bands of the wreath appear to the thinner and less even definition of the gold margins, similar to the configuration seen in the 1stexample shown in this post of the La Galerie Numismatique example with the anomalous engraving pattern of the gold floral embellishments. The distribution of the gold fruit dots on this example are somewhat different than those seen on the other examples shown here. The differences are not completely clear because of the lower resolution of this image, however they appear in different numbers and positions in each panel of the wreath compared with he other photos in this post. Additionally, the execution of the leaves in the wreath, and apparently the way they appear under the enamel coating (“shallower” than the visible depth and darker emerald color of the green enamel on other Lattes examples), are quite distinctly different than in all other Lattes examples. However, the form of this wreath (the thinner and slightly more irregular gold and red enamel bands on the wreath, the distribution of gold dot fruits, and the form of leaves and green enamel) all appear to be identical to the wreath shown in the Tewfik Bichay example of a 1st Class Grand Cordon sash badge from a 2014 auction by Fritz Rudolf Künker that is shown below (except for the orientation mis-configuration in the Künker example discussed below). Could this be an example where the central medallion has been replaced sometime after 1924 with a Tewfik Bichay example? Or is the wreath element from a Lattes made 4th Class Knight chest badges, that also commonly exhibit this form the gold fruit dots and the gold and red enamel binding decorations on their wreath components. Again, is the size of the wreath component from a Knight's badge equivalent so that it could be attached to a neck badge? This is a high-resolution image of a sash badge from a 1st Class Grand Cordon set (consisting only of the sash badge and breast star) from a Fall 2014 Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG auction (https://www.kuenker.de/img/00079/01512q00.jpg). I previously illustrated this example as the 3rd-to-last photo of my post of 11 January, 2019 (an image of the reverse of the sash badge and breast star is the 4th-to-last image in that post). I also posted the entire Künker image showing the obverse and reverse of both the sash badge and breast star as a single high–resolution image in the only photo of my post of 30 April, 2018. This set (Lot 1512) was made by Tewfik Bichay, photos of the reverse of the sash badge and breast star clearly show the Tewfik Bichay maker’s hallmark. The reverse of the sash bade has 2 hallmarks below the Tewfik Bichay, at a slight angle downwards to the right compared with those seen on Lattes examples, and only the Cairo office gold assay of 18 carat and date hallmark are present on the reverse of the central boss. A single hallmark is present on the right side reverse of the Crown suspension device (even in this high resolution image I cannot unambiguously determine which hallmark that may be) and 2 hallmarks are present on the reverse of the suspension loop (the Cairo office 18 carat hallmark and a date hallmark). The auction description identifies the date hallmark as “D”=1929-1930. However, It is unclear to me if this is a “D” hallmark or an Arabic letter for a date between 1940 and 1951. At the time I posted this image, I did not notice a couple of repair anomalies apparent in the central medallion (in addition to being oblivious to the differences in the wreath compared with Lattes examples). Note that the gold and enamel wreath has been rotated incorrectly so that the inferior panel with the crossed branches (6:00 position) is now in a slightly offset orientation (7:00 position), to the viewer’s left from its correct orientation. It appears there also is some slippage of the central calligraphic boss medallion toward the viewer’s left so that it is not centered on its gold mount border element correctly. It also is apparent there is some enamel loss on part of two of the bands around the wreath (the interior right side of that in the ~2:00 position and the interior right portion of the band in the ~4:00 position). All of this suggesting this sash badge has been damaged and either repaired inexpertly or the wreath and central calligraphic medallion boss are both loose. The distribution of the gold dot fruits in the wreath are dissimilar to the illustrated Lattes example shown in this post, but are identical to those seen in the eMedals 3rd Class Commander neck badge example from the 23 July, 2019 auction (Item: M0306-1) shown above. The bands of the wreath also have thinner and slightly more uneven gold margins than the other Lattes examples. Also like the eMedals example above, the execution of the leaves and green enamel is distinctly different than the other Lattes examples shown here. The breast star of this set also shows these same differences in the form of the wreath compared with Lattes examples. photo by Owain Raw-Rees The only other significant variation that can be documented here is the above form of the example illustrated by Owain in his post of the photos of 5 April, 2018 on this thread. He has illustrated this cased example of a 3rd Class Commander neck badge made by Fahmy Tewfik Bichay. The case is marked Tewfik Bichay, and the maker’s mark on the reverse of the neck badge is that of Fahmy Tewfik Bichay. Owain illustrated this in excellent detail with images of the obverse that can be zoomed in the 2nd & 3rd photos of his post about this neck badge. What is most noticeable immediately is the lack of any engraving on the gold floral elements of the gold and blue enamel arms of the star. I don’t know if because of the lighting the blue enamel appears darker than on many Order of Ismail awards, but it is noticeably dark in this example. The Tewfik Bichay sash badge from the Fall 2014 Fritz Rudolf Künker auction shown above may also exhibit a darker blue enamel compared with the Lattes examples, but of course this could be due to lighting of the photograph. The finials at the end of each arm lack the round ball configuration and are simply round gold wells with a small amount of enamel that can be seen not to even fill the finial reservoirs entirely. This piece has a suspension ring connecting the superior arm to the crown suspension device rather than the more robust connections seen on Lattes and Tewfik Bichay examples. The wreath also is executed with much less detailed workmanship. The enamel on the leaves appears quite thin and the gold and red enamel bands around the wreath have very thin gold margins and apparently careless application of the red enamel. Overall, the enamel appears to have been a much thinner formula than on the Lattes and Tewfik Bichay examples. The information on this thread about shortages of materials and several necessary workshop improvisations that Fahmy Tewfik Bichay provided to 922f and 922F described in his posts (6 April, 2018 and 8 October, 2019 on this thread) is likely relevant to some of these design and material differences. I noted that the only other set I could find that show a Fahmy Tewfik Bichay maker’s mark also has this ring suspension between the superior star arm and the crown suspension device. The illustration of that set (shown below) is not high enough resolution to determine whether it also lacks engraving of the gold floral designs on the arms, but that appears likely to be the case, given what is visible in that photo. Low-resolution image of a 2nd Class Grand Officer set of the Order of Ismail made by Fahmy Tewfik Bichay. This image comes from a November 2012 auction by sixbid.com (https://www.sixbid.com/browse.html?auction=515&category=11656&lot=539476). I previously included this image on this thread as the 1st photo in my post of 5 December, 2017, and as the 2nd-to-last image in my post of 11 January, 2019. This photo can only be slightly zoomed, but not enough to resolve whether the design execution is similar to Owain's example above. This image does not clearly show any of the design details of obverse of these pieces. However, it does appear to show the lack of any engraving on the gold floral decorations of the star arms of the neck badge and breast star. The wreath apples to show the same thinner gold and red animal bands as seen on Owain's 3rd Class neck badge above. The color of the green enamel of the wreath also exhibits the lighter color seen on Owain's neck badge. Edited March 30, 2020 by Rusty Greaves added another badge illustration and additional description-and then another good example added
oamotme Posted April 20, 2020 Posted April 20, 2020 Rusty, Further to your detailed research I attach below images of two Ismail miniatures currently for sale on E-Bay - no ribbons and as far as I can see no maker's marks. Kind regards, Owain 1
Rusty Greaves Posted April 22, 2020 Author Posted April 22, 2020 (edited) Owain, Many thanks for posting these high resolution images of 2 Order of Ismail minis. I have not seen the eBay listings (on US or UK eBay). I assume the descriptions provided no measurements? The second mini looks significantly like the obverse of the high resolution image I posted on 18 November, 2018 (same linear defect in the enamel of the superior arm of the star). The reverse of that mini is illustrated as the right hand image in my 23 March 2020 post (shown in the first image below). The staining on the reverse is identical to that seen in your 4th photo above. Both of the past images I have posted of what I think is the same mini show it with the 5th Class Knight's ribbon (with rosette and no galon). I wonder why the ribbon is not shown in this recent eBay listing? Rusty Image I posted on 23 March, 2020 showing obverse and reverse of what I think is this same miniature Order of Ismail as in Owain's post above. The reverse appears to have the identical staining as in Owain's 4th photo in the 20 April, 2020 post. From an 8 January, 2020 Auction by Heritage Auctions Europe (Lot 4592), archived on The Saleroom.com website (https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/mpo/catalogue-id-mpo-mu10002/lot-e12f6a1a-b1cf-4f13-8be2-ab3600ab5f08) Image of the obverse of what I think is the same miniature as Owain illustrated in the 3rd photo of his recent post of 20 April, 2020. This is a higher resolution photo of the same miniature shown above from the January, 2020 Auction by Heritage Auctions Europe (Lot 4592) in my 20 April, 2020 post. I have previously included this as the lower of 2 Order of Ismail minis in the 1st photo from my post of 10 November, 2018. I also cropped this portion of that image as the 5th photo in my post of 13 December, 2018. This photo came from a 2018 auction of La Galerie Numismatique, archived on the Sixbid.com website (https://www.sixbid.com/browse.html?auction=5367&category=168960&lot=4479891). This shows the same linear defect in the enamel of the superior arm of the star near the margin of the central medallion, and a couple irregularities in the margin of the central gold & blue enamel medallion boss with the "Ismail" inscription in the 9:00 and 11:00 positions (in addition to other similarities seen in the illustration you included above). This photo can be zoomed for much more detail and to compare with the ribbon-less example in the 3rd photo of your above post. I have seen few miniature examples with the very light blue enamel on the star's arms and the central inscribed medallion boss as shown in the first of your photos above from 20 April, 2020. Above is a very small, low-resolution images that shows this lighter blue enamel from a 28 July, 2016 auction by H. D. Rauch Gmbh (Lot 332) that is archived on the acsearch.info website (https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=3201427). This comes from a group of 11 miniatures on a chain. This is a cropped image of what I included as the 2nd photo in my post of 10 November, 2018. Owain, you also showed a better photo of the obverse of a mini of the Order of Ismail with this lighter blue enamel in the photo posted on 11 December, 2017 on the "Miniatures of the Middle East & Arab World" thread here on GMIC. Edited April 22, 2020 by Rusty Greaves
oamotme Posted April 23, 2020 Posted April 23, 2020 Rusty, The E-bay vendor is 'larsb001' who is based in Denmark, however the miniatures are no longer for sale - possibly sold. The vendor has a 100% positive record and usually has a some very nice high quality pieces for sale - possibly selling some of his collection. I had considered bidding but prevarication and the fact that I already have a miniature allowed them to pass me by! Regards, Owain 1
larsb001 Posted April 23, 2020 Posted April 23, 2020 Hi Rusty & Owain. If you look at my alias in here it have some resemblance with said eBay seller, so ... Yes, I'm the seller, and as the two miniatures remainded unsold on the .com site they are currently on the French eBay site. I have much too many miniatures in my collection (2000+ items) so I'm slowly sorting items out that I feel are not essential. I ended up with four of these and decided I only need two. These are the two I'll keep for the moment allthough I had some doubt with the light blue one. And it is correct that the ribbon moved from one miniature to another, so mystery solved ? Owain, if these remains unsold once again we can allways talk in here ? /Lars 1
Rusty Greaves Posted April 23, 2020 Author Posted April 23, 2020 (edited) Lars, Thanks for the good photos of these 2 additional miniatures of the Order of Ismail and the information about the other 2 examples from eBay. Do any of these other 2 have any manufacture's marks on the reverse? In your miniature collection, do you have any Egyptian minis of any medals (particularly Khedive or Kingdom era awards) with maker's marks on their reverse? Owain started a thread "Miniatures of the Middle East & Arab World" on 6 December, 2017 in this "Middle East & Arab States" section on GMIC. Owain mentions several manufacturers of Egyptian miniatures, but so far I have not found any images of manufactures' marks in any illustrations from auction listings. It would be interesting to see any Egyptian makers' marks if there are some in your collection. Rusty Edited April 23, 2020 by Rusty Greaves
larsb001 Posted April 30, 2020 Posted April 30, 2020 Rusty, I have checked the two miniatures and there's no marks on the reverse, but both are marked on the ring. Unfortunately with so small marks that I cannot read them even with a very good magnifier. Lars 1
Rusty Greaves Posted July 8, 2020 Author Posted July 8, 2020 (edited) In contrast with the breast stars, sash badges, and neck badges of the 1st Class Grand Cordon, the 2nd Class Grand Officer, and the 3rd Class Officer, there are many fewer internet images of the 4th Class Knight breast badges of the Order of Ismail to compare design variations. Even fewer of these photos are good-enough resolution for a somewhat detailed a comparison of potential variation in their execution. Additionally, all of the images I have encountered are either for J. Lattes made examples, or unspecified manufacturers, so no comparisons can be done between makers. None of the images I found online for the 4th Class badges of the Order of Ismail are as high resolution as at least some of those for the other classes of medals for this order, so it is not possible to make as thorough a comparison as I could for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Class regalia in my previous posts of 31 January, 2020, 2 Feburary 2020, and 28 March, 2020 on this thread. Given these limitations, I want to outline what the design differences appear to be for the 4th Class badges as a group compared with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Class regalia. I have not seen any examples with similarly anomalous engraving of the gold floral elements on the 5 blue & gold arms of the star as seen on the 1st Class and 2nd Class examples I have discussed at the beginning of my posts of 31 January, 2020, addressing variations in the breast stars of the Order of Ismail (1st & 2nd Classes), the brief discussion in my post of 2 February, 2020, and at the beginning of my presentation of the design variations seen in sash badges (1st Class) and neck badges (2nd and 3rd Classes) detailed in my post of 28 March, 2020, all on this thread. There is some slight variation in the engraving of the gold floral elements on the arms of the star of the 4th Class badges, but the most important variation compared to the other classes is the form of the gold and enamel wreath. Within the higher resolution photos of examples of the 4th Class breast badge, there are no differences in the overall design of the medal from other classes. The wreath does show differences in the number and placement of the gold fruit dots of the wreath surrounding the central medallion with the inscription “Ismail” that are not seen in the other classes. As seen on the sash badges, neck badges, and breast stars of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Classes of this award, there are some variations in the engraving on the gold floral designs of the gold and blue enamel arms of the star. These appear to be due to different skill levels of the engravers across the period when these medals were manufactured, rather than any intentional design changes to the Order of Ismail. In this post, I am only using the 8 “best” images of the Knight’s badge that I have found on the internet. They are posted in order of the quality of their resolution for showing aspects of the design of this badge. I have included most of these images in previous posts. None are as high-resolution as any of the examples I have used to illustrate the design norms and variation for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Class regalia of the Order of Ismail. Above is one of the 2 best-quality images of a 4th Class Knight breast badge that I have been able to download from the internet. This photo is an enlarged and cropped version that comes from a 12 December, 2015 auction by Heritage Auctions (Lot 47429) that includes an image of Lattes name on the reverse of this Knight Class badge in its case and the J. Lattes name on the inside of the upper lid of the case, but is missing the suspension ribbon (https://historical.ha.com/itm/military-and-patriotic/foreign-wars/egyptian-order-of-ismail-by-lattes-of-cairo/a/6144-47429.s). No date is provided in the auction description, and the date hallmark on the suspension ring cannot be read due to the low resolution of the photo. I previously illustrated this same badge as the 1st photo in my post of 21 February, 2019 and an enlarged and cropped version as the 2nd photo of that post showing the suspension ring and crown suspension device in a discussion of the placement of Egyptian assay hallmarks. I also included the un-cropped version of this image as the 10th photo in my post of 19 October, 2019 on this thread, and the version shown above as the 11th image detailing cases for all 4 Classes of Order of Ismail awards in that post. This image can be zoomed for some slightly greater detail, although it is not a high-resolution image. The distribution of the gold fruit dots within the wreath that surrounds the central medallion’s gold border (probably intended to represent 2 laurel branches) of the inscribed central boss is different on the Lattes-made Knights’ chest badges than on all of the other forms of this design element on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Class regalia. The lowermost panel of the wreath where the 2 branches of the wreath cross has 6 gold fruit dots on the Knight’s chest badge. This contrasts with the Lattes-made 1st Class sash badge that has 9 gold dots in this panel. There are only 2 images I have encountered of 1st Class breast stars unequivocally made by Lattes that are high enough resolution to compare the configuration of the wreath element to other classes of this regalia. Both of those do show identical number and distribution of the gold fruit dots within the wreath to each other. I included the eMedals image of a Grand Cordon breast star from a pre-2016 auction as the 7th photo in my post of 31 January, 2020 discussing variations in breast star designs (that post also indicates the other times I included that image and some additional information about that star). In an oversight, I neglected to include a high resolution image of a 1st Class breast star from an April 2018 La Galerie Numismatique auction of a cased set of sash, sash badge, and breast star made by Lattes that I included as the 7th photo in my post of 15 January, 2020 on this thread (I previously included a lower-resolution image of this star from the listing archived on the liveauctioneers.com website in my 22 February, 2019 post). Of those 2 photos, the eMedals example I did include in the 31 January, 2020 post shows the distribution most clearly. The other Grand Cordon breast stars I illustrated in that 31 January, 2020 post are the problematic Fritz Rudolf Künker example (1st photo) and the Tewfik Bichay example (8th photo) from a fall 2014 auction by Künker Münzauktionen un Goldhandel, both of which have contrasting configurations of the wreath’s gold fruit dots compared with Lattes examples. The 2nd Class breast star exhibits 7 fruit dots in this position (the lowermost panel in the 6:00 position) on the wreath. Moving clockwise around the panels of the wreath between the gold and red enamel ribbon bands around the wreath (centered on the 8:00 position), the above photo appears to show 11 gold fruit dots. Other images of Knights’ badges do not show these fruits as clearly, especially in this panel, so I am unsure if that is the correct count even for this example, no less the Knight badges as a group. There may be slight differences in the thickness of the green enamel on different examples, and on some badges portions of the leaf stems may extend close to or through the surface of that enamel making the number of fruits appear different (this can be seen in comparisons of the breast stars, sash badges, and neck badges shown in my previous posts of 31 January, 2 February, and 28 March, 2020 addressing design differences in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Classes of the Order of Ismail). The sash badge of the 1st Class and the neck badges of the 2nd and 3rd Classes show a maximum of 13 fruit dots in this panel (centered at 8:00), and some examples have one or more of the smaller dots submerged deeper in the green enamel. The Grand Cordon breast star exhibits 12 fruit dots in this panel, in a different configuration than the 2nd Class breast star, the sash and neck badges, and the Knight’s breast badge. The breast star of the 2nd Class has 13 fruit dots in this panel, distributed differently than in the sash badge or neck badges. The next panel clockwise (centered on the 11:00 position) appears to show 12 gold fruit dots on the 4th Class badge. The sash badge of the 1st Class and the neck badges of the 2nd and 3rd Classes show 13 fruit dots in this panel. The Grand Cordon breast star exhibits 12 gold dots in this location. The breast star of the 2nd Class also has 13 fruit dots in this position, distributed in a nearly identical configuration to the sash badge and neck badges, bit slightly differently than the 1st Class breast star. The next panel clockwise (centered on the 1:00 position) shows at least 11 gold fruit dots. The 1st Class sash badge and the neck badges of the 2nd and 3rd Classes show 13 fruit dots in this panel. The 1st Class breast star has 12 gold dots in this portion of the wreath, some differently positioned than on the 2nd Class star. The breast star of the 2nd class also has 13 fruit dots in this position, distributed very similarly to those on the sash badge and neck badges. The final panel centered at the 4:00 position shows 11 fruit dots on the 4th Class Lattes design. The other photos included here below that have reasonable detail visible for this panel on 4th Class chest badges seem to show 10 fruit dots in this panel. The 1st Class sash badge and the neck badges of the 2nd and 3rd Classes show 13 fruit dots in this panel. The Grand Cordon breast star exhibits 12 fruit dots in this panel, with different positions than those on the 2nd Class breast star. The 2nd Class breast star has 13 fruit dots in this position, and the breast star has a different distribution of the dots than the sash and neck badges. All examples of the 4th Class Knight breast badge show thinner gold borders of the 2 crossed ribbons with red enamel binding the wreath than seen on this element in the sash badges, neck badges, and breast stars of other classes. This is likely partly due to the smaller size of the 4th Class badge (~55 mm wide x 74-76 mm tall) compared to the other regalia (1st Class sash badge = ~62 mm wide x 80 mm tall; 1s Class breast star = ~80-82 mm in diameter; 2nd Class neck badge = ~62 mm wide x ~78-79 mm tall; 2nd Class breast star = 70 mm in diameter; 3rd Class neck badge = ~61-62 mm wide x 78-79 mm tall; see my post of 13 December, 2018 on this thread that briefly discusses measurement variations). The engraving on the gold floral decorations of the blue enamel arms on the Lattes 4th Class badges are generally similar to those detailed for the other Order of Ismail regalia in my previous posts discussing that variation. All the examples below show variations within examples that are consistent with that seen on the other Order of Ismail pieces. This engraving on the Heritage Auctions example above can be best seen in the arm in the 7:00 position (oriented lowermost in the photo) showing a single engraving mark at the most distal portion of the distal flower with 3 paired marks within the body of that most distal gold element. There are no lines within the 2 stems at the base of this distal flower, extending from the 2 central flowers, as seen on sash badges, neck badges, and breast stars of the other classes. This is probably simply due to the smaller size and much thinner width of this portion of the gold design. The 2 flowers in the middle of the gold floral design each show 3 lateral engraving line and a single distal mark oriented with the most medial, slightly longer petals. The stems of these flowers do exhibit engraved lines from their origin to the flowers. Like the sash badges and neck badges, that origin point is circular, not a lozenge-shape as seen on the 1st and 2nd Class breast stars. The engraving on the most proximal leaf elements, the teardrop-shaped ornamentation above their meeting point, and the two leaf elements sweeping downward from the 2 central flowers are executed similarly to those on other classes of the Order of Ismail emblems. A Lattes-made Knight’s breast badge (Item: EG137) from an October 2017 auction by eMedals (https://www.emedals.com/egypt-a-french-made-order-of-ismail-officer-by-lattes). Although this is a better-quality image than many photos available on the internet of the Knight’s breast badge, this is not as high resolution as the Heritage Auctions example shown above. It is a better resolution example than the other images I have included here (although the Spink example shown below can be viewed as a better quality image, I could not download a version of comparable quality). Photos in the eMedals auction listing of this badge show the Lattes maker’s mark on the reverse. The images that show the positions of the Egyptian silver hallmarks on the reverse of the rayed-embellishment are not high enough resolution to read. I previously included another illustration from the eMedals auction listing showing the full ribbon and rosette of this badge as the 4th photo of my post of 13 December, 2018. I posted an image of the reverse of this badge showing the Lattes maker’s mark and the position of the 3 Egyptian silver hallmarks (no gold hallmarks are visible in the photos on the eMedals listing) as the 18th photo in my post of 11 January, 2019 on this thread. I also included an oblique image of the reverse of this badge as the 19th illustration in that post and followed it with the oblique image of the obverse as the 20th photo (that photo is shown below). There is a slightly bent finial gold and blue enamel ball at the distal end of the star arm in the 5:00 position. The wreath design appears the same as that described above for the Heritage Auctions example, although the lower-resolution of the photo makes it difficult to confirm the number and placement of some of the smaller or more lateral gold fruit dots in the wreath. There appears to be some thinner green enamel along the medial margin of the panel centered on the 8:00 position (visible in the image below), but I cannot tell is this is due to thinner application, wear, or damage. There may some collateral damage to the lowermost of the gold and red enamel bands around the wreath at this location as well. A smaller area of thin enamel is apparent on the next panel clockwise (that centered at 11:00) as well, at the most superior portion just underneath the left portion of the superior gold and blue enamel star arm. There appears to be some overflow of red enamel on the ribbons binding the wreath at the 7:00 position, at the point where the gold and red enamel ribbon elements cross. This piece does show a couple differences in the engraving of the gold floral elements in the gold and blue enamel star arms. That engraving may be more visible in the following photograph showing the obverse in an oblique view. Oblique photo of the same eMedals 4th Class breast badge from the (Item: EG137) October 2017 auction. Both this image and that above of this same piece show that the distal flower has just 2 pairs of lateral engraving lines and the single most-distal engraved mark associated with the middle petal of this flower. As seen on the Heritage Auctions example, there are no engraved lines within the 2 stems at the inferior of this distal flower that meet the 2 central flowers. Both of the middle flowers exhibit 3 lateral engraved lines and the 2 “v-shaped” marks that outline their central petals. This form of engraving also is seen on some examples of sash badges and neck badges, as well as on a few 1st and 2nd Class breast stars and is described in my posts of 31 January and 28 March, 2020. The engraving of the other portions is similar to that described in the Heritage Auctions example above. This oblique image shows well how slight variations in the thickness of the green enamel of the wreath element can potentially make some of the smaller gold fruit dots less or more visible. Above is an example of a Knights breast badge from a past Spink Auction (Auction 19001, Lot 1179, https://spink.com/lot/19001001179). As noted above, the image I was able to download and include here is not as high-resolution as can viewed in the maximum enlargement possible on the Spink website’s archived listing. I previously illustrated this 4th Class example as the 3rd photo in my post of 1 November, 2019. The auction description states that the Lattes name is marked on the reverse of this badge. It also identifies the date hallmark as “K”, indicating an assay date of 1935-1935. There is damage to at least 3 areas on the central medallion boss with the calligraphic inscription “Ismail”. The wreath surrounding the central medallion is essentially identical to those discussed above, although some of the gold fruit dots are not as visible as on the eMedals example. There is no apparent overflow of red enamel in the gold and enamel bands around the wreath. Glare in the photo makes it impossible to determine if there are any irregularities in the green enamel of the wreath or in some of the red enamel of the bands. The engraving on the gold floral elements on the arms of the star shows a couple differences from the 2 examples above. At the most distal end of the terminal flower there are 2 engraved lines below the terminus of the central petal. This is best seen on the arm in the 5:00 position and on the superior arm in the 12:00 position. They may be forming a closed (or nearly closed) loop as seen on 1 neck badge I previously illustrated (the Lattes-made example from a Fritz Rudolf Künker auction of 4 October, 2014 [Auction 253, Lot 1513] that is identifies as a 3rd Class badge with a date hallmark of “A” =1925-1926, shown in 5th photo in my post of 28 March 2020), but on none of the breast stars I have seen in high enough resolution photos to examine. The distal flower has only 2 pairs of lateral engraved marks. Again, there are no lines engraved within the 2 stems extending from the inferior margin of this distal flower to where the 2 middle flower elements are. The 2 central flowers each have 2 lateral marks and a more abbreviated engraving of the “v-shaped” engraving of the central petals that do not extend to the most distal portion of the gold flowers’ definition. The other configuration and engraving of the floral elements are similar to those described above for the Heritage Auctions and eMedals examples. However, the most lateral engraving of the curled 2 basal leaf elements seem less expertly curved and flowing. Overall, the engraving on this piece appears less skilled than on the previous 2 badges illustrated here. The example above is a low-resolution image of a 4th Class breast badge from a past auction by La Galerie Numismatique, Auction XXIX, Lot 180 (https://www.coins-la-galerie-numismatique.com/auction-xxix/order-ismail). The auction description states there is a Lattes maker’s mark on the reverse, but there are no images, or information about date hallmarks. The color of this image is odd, which must be due to the film, lighting, and apparent tarnish on this piece. I previously included an illustration of this badge showing its ribbon and rosette as the 1st photo in my post of 7 December, 2017 (although the position of the Egyptian gold hallmarks are visible in that image they cannot be read) and the above image of just the badge as the 2nd photo in that post. There is some damage to the central inscribed medallion boss. The terminal finial ball on the lower right arm of the star (in the 5:00 position) is slightly bent. The gold is extremely discolored except on the floral design elements of the gold and blue enamel arms and some of the bordering gold of those arms. The gold of the suspension ring is anomalously bright compared to the rest of the piece. The image quality is not good for the wreath element, the green enamel appears odd, perhaps because of the metal’s discoloration of the medallion frames, the gold of the red enamel bands, and the gold fruit dots. I included this image here because the engraving of the floral designs on the star arms is somewhat visible. There is a single engraved mark at the most distal end of the terminal flower and 3 pairs of marks on each lateral side of that flower. There are no engraved marks within the 2 stems running from the inferior portion of this distal flower to the 2 central blossoms. The 2 middle flowers have 3 engraved lateral lines and a single engraved mark at the end of each, generally situated under the longest medial petal or between that one and the middle petal. The engraving of the other floral decorative elements is similar to that on the other 4th Class badges shown here. There appears to be a separation between the lowermost paired leaf elements and the vertical oval gold element. This connection is thin on all of these examples, and the Heritage Auctions piece in the first photo of this post may show a similar separation on the upper right star arm (in the 2:00 position). The engraving marks in the flowers of this piece appear shorter than on the other examples shown here, looking more like punches rather than lines. However, the low-resolution of this image makes it unclear if that is a reasonable assessment of the craftsmanship. A low resolution illustration of a Knight's breast badge from a 4 October, 2014 auction by Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG, Auction 253, Lot 1514 that is archived on the acsearch.info website (https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=2146042). The auction description states this has a Lattes maker’s mark on the reverse and that it bears a date hallmark of “Y”, which would indicate an assay date of 1923-1924. I previously illustrated this badge as the 3rd photo in my post of 31 October, 2018. The photo suffers from overexposure, and possibly computer manipulation of the image. It exhibits the same configuration of the wreath element as described above for the other pieces, although the resolution of the image is problematic. The engraving of the gold floral elements on the star arms is not clear in this image. However, they do show that the terminal flower has a single engraved line accenting the central petal and just 2 pairs of lateral engraved marks. The middle flowers each have 3 lateral engraved lines and appear to have a single engraved mark in the central petal or between the central and most medial petal of each flower. There may be a “v-shaped” mark in these flowers, but the resolution of the image is too poor to be certain. What is visible of the other engraving seems consistent with the other examples shown here. A low–resolution image of a Knight’s breast star from an illustration in a forum page of I Nostri Avi, an Italian website focused on chivalric orders and genealogical information. This photo may originally have derived from past auction listings of Liverpool Medals or Medal Medaille websites (http://iagiforum.info/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=10120&start=0). Photos in this forum posting show the Lattes maker’s mark on the reverse, but the resolution does not permit reading the date hallmark. I previously included this illustration as the 1st photo in my post of 12 September, 2018 and the image of the reverse showing the Lattes mark as the 2nd image in that post on this thread. Although the detail in this image is poor, it generally confirms the design pattern of these 4th Class Lattes pieces. I cannot tell if the most distal flowers on the star arms exhibit 2 or 3 pairs of engraved marks, but 2 may be likely. It is impossible to see whether the distal engraved mark is a single line or a loop. The middle flowers appear to have 3 engraved lateral marks, but I cannot see the form of the mark(s) at the distal end of those flowers (1 line or a “v-shaped" petal outline). Low–resolution image of a 4th Class Knight breast badge from a 6 December, 2015 auction by Thies Militaria Auctions, LLC. (Lot 269) archived on the Invaluable.com website (https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/egypt-order-of-ismail-knight-s-badge-269-c-2744c6ab2c). The listing shows a photo the Lattes maker’s mark on the reverse of this badge. A photo of the 3 Egyptian gold hallmarks on the reverse shows the “D” assay date hallmark, indicating 1929-1930. I previously included this image as the 1st photo in my post of 15 January, 2020 on this thread, the Lattes mark as the 2nd photo, and the Egyptian gold hallmarks as the 3rd photo of that post. Although not a high quality image, this is better than many other internet images of he 4th Class badge and is the last I will include with this post. The wreath in this image shows no anomalies compared with the other examples illustrated in today’s post. I cannot discern with any certainty the forms of the engraving on the gold floral elements of the star arms. It looks likely that the most distal flower has a single terminal line and 3 pairs of engraved marks. The middle flowers may have 3 lateral engraved marks, but it is even more unclear if the distal ends of those have a single mark or a “v-shaped” outline of the central petal. Edited July 8, 2020 by Rusty Greaves spelling corrections
freiherr Posted July 9, 2020 Posted July 9, 2020 Here are two portraits of Gen Sir Francis Reginald Wingate High Commissioner of Egypt 17 - 19 with the rarely seen Order of Ismail Type 1 breast star, Commander or Grand Commander Order of the Star of Ethiopia and Order of the Nile Breast Star. he was given the Jordanian Order of Renaissance later as well but I have not been able to spot that Cheers
Rusty Greaves Posted July 9, 2020 Author Posted July 9, 2020 (edited) Freiherr, I don't see an Order of Ismail breast star among General Sir Francis Reginald Wingate's awards. In my brief research on Wingate, I could not find that he had been awarded the Order of Ismail, unlike other later Governors General of the Sudan; Sir Geoffrey Francis Archer, Sir John Loader Maffey, and Lieutenant-Colonel Sir George Stewart Symes who were awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of Ismail, as shown in my previous post of 25 Novemeber, 2019 on this thread. The only Egyptian honors that Wingate was awarded were the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile in 1915 and the Grand Cordon of the Order of Mohammed Ali in 1917 (noted in my post of 25 November, 2019), and he is shown wearing those breast stars in the 2nd photo you included above. Edited July 9, 2020 by Rusty Greaves
Rusty Greaves Posted August 14, 2020 Author Posted August 14, 2020 (edited) Owain alerted me a couple weeks ago to a very recent Spink auction of an Order of Ismail neck badge that I had not seen. In looking at this piece, I also realized I had neglected to include a moderate-resolution image of another neck badge from a previous Spink auction in my discussion of design variations of 2nd and 3rd Class neck badges and 1st Class sash badges on 28 March, 2020 within this thread. Consequently, I am including images from the auction that Owain identified me and the previous Spink example for some minor additions to information about design variation seen in the Order of Ismail neck badges. Image of the recent Spink offering of an Order of Ismail neck badge from Auction 20002, Lot 985 (https://spink.com/lot/20002000985). The Spink auction images are of higher resolution than the above (and 2 following) photos and can be zoomed to examine the engraving on the arms and the form of the wreath around the central inscribed medallion in better detail. The class of this neck badge is not identified, but it is stated to have been made by Lattes and measures 80 mm in height (including the crown suspension device) x 60 mm in width. The auction listing does not provide any images of the reverse, but states that the maker's name (Lattes), a gold hallmark, and a date Hallmark of "Y" is present on the reverse. The "Y" hallmark indicates an assay date of 1923-24. This example is interesting as the form of the wreath around the central inscribed medallion is not typical for Lattes pieces. The date of 1923-1924 is within the period when Lattes was the manufacturer of this regalia. The only examples of this form of wreath on a piece that I have seen that is marked with Lattes name is the one I included as the 17th photo in my post of 28 March, from a 22 July, 2019 eMedals auction (Item M0306-1, identified in the auction description as a 3rd Class Commander neck badge), also with a "Y" date hallmark. I previously included several images of that eMedals neck badge in my post of 22 August, 2019. The eMedals image in the 2019 auction listing is not high-resolution, but the engraving on the star's arms, the configuration of the gold and red enamel bands around the wreath (including areas of overflow), and possibly some overflow (?) on the terminal finial of the lower left arm all appear quite similar (identical), and I believe this is the same piece. The cropped photos below are slightly better resolution and show those similarities to the eMedals example much better than the photo above. As noted in my 28 March post, the only other neck or sash badges with this form of wreath that I have seen in the online images I check are: that shown in the 16th image of the same 28 March, 2020 post showing a neck badge from Hassan Kamal-Kelisi Morali's flickr photostream (no maker's attribution, but identified as a 3rd Class Commander neck badge), and the 18th photo in the same 28 March post identified as a 1st Class sash badge made by Tewfik Bichay from a fall 2014 Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG auction with the off-center & slightly rotated wreath. In reviewing the Hassan Kamal-Kelisi Morali's flickr image, I only recently noticed that in addition to some anomalous engraving and the uncommon form of wreath (except on later pieces by Tewfik Bichay) it also lacks the border of fine gold balls seen on all classes of neck badge, sash badges, breast stars, and breast badges for the Order of Ismail. Cropped image of the same neck badge from the Auction 20002, Lot 985 Spink auction listing showing slightly better detail of the engraving on each of the arms of this neck badge and the form of the wreath surrounding the central inscribed medallion. As noted in my 28 March, 2020 post, the eMedals listing of what I believe is the same neck badge provides illustrations the reverse showing the "LATTES" maker's mark, the Egyptian gold hallmarks, and the "Y" date hallmark. In order not to be too redundant, please see my discussion of the engraving and wreath configuration in that 28 March post of the eMedals example. Cropped image showing he best detail I can obtain as a jpg image of this same Spink neck badge. This provides some better detail of the engraving of the gold floral design elements on the star's arms and of the wreath configuration than can be seen in the 2 images above or on the 17th photo in my 28 March, 2020 post of what I think is the same neck badge as this recent Spink auction piece. As is apparent in all 3 of these photos here, the form of the wreath surrounding the central inscribed medallion is anomalous compared with all other images of neck and sash badges that bear the "LATTES" manufacturer's mark. Although it has the same number of gold fruit dots in the most inferior panel (6:00 position) as on 4th Class Knight breast badges, they are in a slightly different configuration and those in the other panels are different as well. It is strikingly similar to the fruit dot configuration as well as the width and slight irregularities of the gold boundaries of the red & gold bands around the wreath seen on the Tewfik Bichay-made example of a 1st Class sash badge, shown in the 18th photo in my 28 March post. The wreath also appears to be larger than all of the other normal Lattes-made pieces. As can be seen in comparison with the Spink example illustrated below (and in all of the Lattes examples with normal wreath configurations shown in my 38 March post), there is much less of the gold inner border of each arm visible underneath the exterior margin of the wreath than in all other Lattes pieces. Only the piece with very anomalous engraving on the gold floral elements of the blue enamel and gold arms of the star that also has the same odd configuration of the wreath for a supposedly Lattes made 2nd Class Grand Officer neck badge (shown as the 1st photo of my 28 March post) has a wreath that seems to almost completely obscure that gold border on the inner margin of the star's arms. Even the 1st Class Grand Officer sash badge from the fall 2014 Fritz Rudolf KünkerI auction made by Tewfik Bichay with the same form of wreath configuration of gold laurel fruit dots as this Spink example (and unlike all unquestionably Lattes-made pieces) has a wider and clearly visible margin of gold on the inner portion of the star's arms adjacent to the exterior margin of the wreath component as seen on Lattes badges. I do not know whether this suggests a later repair of this piece using a wreath from a different, non-Lattes manufactured insignia (a Tewfik Bichay sash or neck badge's wreath that may [?] be slightly larger than the Lattes wreaths, although the overall dimensions are probably identical), but this aspect of the Spink badge's configuration is clearly anomalous. Order of Ismail neck badge from a past Spink, offering, Auction 18003, Lot 908 (https://spink.com/lot/18003000908). The image on the Spink website is of much higher resolution than I can download, and may be zoomed to examine it in greater detail. I neglected to include this image in my discussion of neck badges and sash badges in my post of 28 March, 2020, but I had previously illustrated this example as the 2nd photo in my post of 1 November, 2019. The Spink listing does not identify the class of this piece, but does state that it was made by Lattes, measures 83 mm in height (including the crown suspension device) x 62 mm, and identifies an assay date hallmark of "Z". The "Z" date hallmark indicates an assay date of 1924-1925. Unlike the above example, the wreath design configuration of this piece is consistent with other Lattes-made examples. A slightly higher-resolution cropped image of the same neck badge form the Spink Auction 18003, Lot 908. As can be seen in this photograph, the complete set of 3 Egyptian gold hallmarks are present in the normal position on the right side link between the superior star arm and the crown suspension device showing the Cairo assay office hallmark for 18 carat gold, the ibis mark identifying Egyptian-made gold, and the date hallmark of "Z". A close-up cropped image of this same Spink neck badge from the 18003 Auction, Lot 908 showing details of the engraving on the superior arm and the normal wreath configuration for Lattes manufactured regalia. As I did not include this in my post looking at design and execution variation, I will briefly comment on that for this piece as another example of normal differences in J. Lattes-made neck and sash badges. There is some overflow of red enamel at the point where each of the gold and red enamel bands around the wreath cross. The engraving shows 2 lateral marks and a single central engraved line on the most distal gold flower of the floral decoration. The 2 middle flowers each have 3 lateral engraved marks and 2 engraved lines outlining the central petal of each flower. The lowermost of the 3 lateral engraved lines forms the line running inferior from the flowers into their stems that meet at a single horizontal engraved line in the circular gold origin point of both central flowers. The engraving of the line running from the most distal flower to form the stem/leaf element running proximally to the most distal portion the gold floral design is similar to that described for other Lattes examples in my 28 March post. The most proximal "bud" and leaf element of the gold design has a single engraved line in the central bud element, and somewhat less elegant lateral lines in the leaf element that lack any lateral curl at the lateral end. On each arm, the engraving of the basal leaves exhibits a slightly off-center meeting point with each other in the most proximal somewhat square-off origin of the gold floral design underneath the central bud component. Edited August 14, 2020 by Rusty Greaves
Rusty Greaves Posted August 14, 2020 Author Posted August 14, 2020 (edited) I would like to elaborate a bit on the comment I made yesterday about the size of the wreath on the Spink Auction 20002, Lot 985 neck badge (shown in the 1st three photos of my post from 13 August, 202). I feel that this wreath element is larger than on other Lattes and on non-Lattes made examples (i.e., the Tewfik Bichay 1st Class sash badge from the fall 2014 Fritz Rudolf Künker auction I referenced yesterday and the 3rd Class neck badge made by Fahmy Tewfik Bichay illustrated by Owain in the 3rd photo of his post of on this thread on 5 April, 2018), suggesting a recent substitution of a wreath component from a non-Lattes piece. I went back to the eMedals listing for Item: M0360-1 from the 22 July, 2019 eMedlals auction (https://www.emedals.com/egypt-kingdom-an-order-of-ismail-in-gold-i-class-commander-by-j-lattes-c-1924) that I am nearly certain is the same neck badge as that shown in the recent Spink auction. An oblique image of that badge shows the wreath obscuring the gold margin of the adjacent central portion the star arms quite well. I wanted to include an additional comparative view of what I think is an anomalous configuration as I have not noticed this difference until I put together yesterday's post. Below, I compare that eMedals M0360-1 image to another oblique view of an eMedals neck badge from a past auction archived on the eMedals website as Item: EG814 (https://www.emedals.com/egypt-kingdom-an-order-of-ismail-in-gold-1st-class-commander-by-j-lattes-c-12439) that shows what is the normal proportional configuration of the neck badge's wreath element in relationship to the gold margin of the star arms. I did illustrate such a comparison yesterday between the 2 Spink examples from frontal photographs, but felt a different view confirms my suspicion that both the configuration and size of the wreath on the first example I illustrated yesterday are anomalous for J. Lattes-made Order of Ismail regalia. Moderate-resolution oblique image of the eMedals 22 July, 2019 auction Item: M0360-1 neck badge that I think is the same badge as the Spink example shown in the 1st three photographs of my post here yesterday. Comparison of the frontal photo and this oblique image show what I think are identical areas of thinness in the green enamel of the wreath, showing the gold underneath. I previously included this image as the 2nd photo of my post of my post of 22 August, 2019 in addition to the frontal image as the 1st image in that post, views of the reverse (the 3rd & 4th photos in that post), and one of the set of 3 Egyptian gold hallmarks on the reverse (the 5th photo of my 22 August, 2019 post). I would urge anyone interested to compare those images to the single photo of Spink example shown in the first 3 illustrations of my post from yesterday (or the higher resolution images on the Spink website) to confirm that this eMedals neck badge is the same piece as that Spink example. In comparison with the oblique view below (also see the oblique view posted as the 14th photo in my post of 28 March, 2020 discussing variation in the neck badges and sash badges of the Order of Ismail of a 3rd Class Commander neck badge, Lot 1027, from a 6 April, 2019 Very Important Lot auction), it is clear that the wreath element of this badge almost completely covers the gold margins of the most central portion of each of the blue enamel and gold arms. I think it is evident that except for the wreath, all the other elements of this badge are consistently similar to other J. Lattes neck and sash badge examples. However, I feel that the wreath's thinner enamel, different configuration of the gold laurel fruit dots, the less-even form of the gold and red enamel bands around the wreath, and the size of the wreath compared with other Lattes example strongly indicates a replacement of the wreath with one from another badge, likely a Tewfik Bichay piece. A good-resolution oblique photo of the past eMedals auction Item: EG814 of a Lattes-made neck badge identified as a "1st Class" Commander example for comparison with the above neck badge's wreath. The eMedals listing provides the dimensions of this EG814 piece as 79.5 mm high (including the crown suspension device) x 61 mm wide, a description of the hallmarks, and multiple images of the obverse, reverse, and hallmarks on this piece. The photos clearly show a "LATTES" maker's mark on the reverse above one set of 3 Egyptian hallmarks. The date hallmark "A" on the reverse (shown on the auction listing's photos of the central medallion boss below Lattes name and on the reverse of the suspension loop that attaches the crown suspension loop to the neck ribbon) indicates an assay date of 1925-1926. I included an obverse view of this piece with its normal Lattes configuration of the wreath in my 28 March post about variation in neck and sash badges and several other images of this piece in my post of 11 January, 2019. Compared with the oblique view of the 22 July, 2019 auction Item: M0360-1 neck badge shown above, this view of the neck badge clearly shows the difference in the size of the wreath element (that is consistent in all other aspects with J. Lattes-made pieces, i.e., the thicker green enamel is evident in this photo, the thicker and more even margins of the gold & red enamel bands around the wreath, and other 2 frontal photos of the obverse in the eMedlas listing shows the normal arrangement of gold fruit dots) and the visibility of the gold margins of the adjacent portion of the star's arms in contrast to the Item: M0360-1 neck badge. Edited August 14, 2020 by Rusty Greaves
oamotme Posted August 19, 2020 Posted August 19, 2020 Gentlemen, I had the good fortune to meet with Bichay in 1996 and again in 2003 and see my notes below which I hope will be of interest. I also attach a picture from 1996 and also one of me with Bichay in 2003. Regards, Owain Notes of Conversation with Fahmy Tewfiq Bichay, St. Anne Bellvue, Quebec, Tuesday 19 August, 2003. Lattes / Bichay Pronounced ‘Lattess’. Fahmy’s father was the chief craftsman for Lattes and manufactured all awards dating back to the reign of Hussein Kamel (1914-17) including the short-lived Order of Filaha. Bichay also manufactured for two other “jewellers” – Weinberger/Dornberger?? and Robsons?? Bichay’s father took over the workshop for Lattes in the 1930’s. At peak approximately 45 people were employed at the workshops and Bichay joined the business on leaving school at the age of 18 in 1935 becoming a master of all stages of production. His father often met with King Fouad and he in turn met on occasional Friday afternoons with King Farouk. In accordance with his father's wishes he never got involved in politics. Fahmy slowly withdrew from the business in the 1960s – emigrating to Canada in 1962 and returning occasionally to Cairo. He maintained and interest but after the matter of the 1973 War Medal – see below no further medals were manufactured. A shop was retained in Cairo in Talaat Harb Street but this was eventually closed in the late 1990s. Egyptian Medal Ribbon No ribbons were manufactured locally in Cairo but subcontracted to a French company in Nimes? Egypt – Collar of the Order of Mohammed Ali Bichay retained an example of this award and the collar consisted of gold links made in part by his father in the 1920’s and by him in the late 1940s or early 1950’s. At an asking price of US$25,000 it was deemed more suitable that the collar go to auction. Egypt - Cholera Medal 1947 Designer Fox or Fuchs was not a jeweller but a metal worker who was endeavouring to get into the medal business. Egypt - Mohammed Ali Centenary Medal 1949. At least two designs but the approved design was not manufactured and issued and thus the majority of those wearing the ribbon did not have the medal Egypt – Republican Awards The somewhat unattractive designs were a result of the designs being provided by the Cairo College of Art. Egypt - Order of Liberation 1952 This medal was only manufactured in very limited numbers and thus the majority of officers who wore this medal ribbon did not actually have the medal. (The same would probably apply to the Medal of Liberation as proposed for other ranks.) Egypt – 1973 War Medal The last medal that Bichy was involved with – he was asked to tender, however he was undercut by a competitor. Bichay was asked to reduce his price to match the competitor but he declined on the grounds that the price quoted would only cover the costs of the raw materials and he did not wish to manufacture at a loss. Thus the eventual medal was of poor quality. Libya – Order of King Idris Bichay believed that this was one of the most attractive pieces he had designed and manufactured. Saudi Arabia In 1950’s only manufactured the Order of Abdul Aziz and the Order of Social Services. Syria - Order of Merit Originally made by Bertrand with a 6 pointed star after independence in 1948 Bichay asked to tender for the manufacture and suggested that the design should be amended to a 5 pointed star. As Arthus Bertrand was unwilling to release a die, Bichay manufactured his own die. Yemen - Proposed Royal Order Crown Prince Badr took the only proof item and due to the 1962 Revolution the order was never manufactured nor indeed was Bichay paid for his work. Owain Raw-Rees, 30 August 2003. 1
922F Posted August 20, 2020 Posted August 20, 2020 (edited) Thank you, Owain, for this gift! The photos reveal Fahmy's true essence and spirit. Unfortunately, I did not memcon my personal interactions with this wonderful man and now have only faulty 30-40 year old memories. Fortunately, I certainly do recall Fahmy's hospitality, kindness, and warm personality. Edited August 20, 2020 by 922F spelchek 1
Rusty Greaves Posted August 22, 2020 Author Posted August 22, 2020 (edited) Owain, many thanks for this additional background information about Fahmy Tewfik Bichay, some medals, and the photos. It is wonderful to hear the stories you, 922F, and some others have contributed about meeting him and the wealth of information he shared about many aspects of his career making so many lovely medals and to hear about the generous man he was. A pre-1952 advertisement for Maison Tewfik Bichai from a current eBay listing of some South African Air Force squadron badges made by Tewfik Bichay (https://www.ebay.com/itm/402193177081). This identifies the workshop at 40 Rue Soliman Pacha, Cairo (also "Suleiman Pasha" Street in English, named after one of the generals of Muhammed Ali's reign), prior to when it was renamed as Talaat Harb in 1954, for the prominent Egyptian economist and founder of Banque Misr. The auction does not include this advertisement, a photo of a pilot wearing one of the Bichay-made badges, nor a copy of a Military issue (1941) identity card for Fahmy Tewfik Bichay (spelled "Fahmi Tawfik Bishay") that are illustrated in the eBay listing. I previously posted an image of that ID as the last photo in my post of 21 October, 2019 on this thread where I was illustrating some variation in J. Lattes cases (mostly for the more common Order of the Nile in that post) & labels as well as the fewer examples of labels I've encountered for Tewfik Bichay and Fahmy Tewfik Bichay The image of the ID came from a section of the MP Antique et Militaria website (http://www.militaria.qc.ca/air-force/south-africa.html) that illustrates and identifies a number of South African Air Force squadron badges that the site moderator obtained personally from Fahmy Tewfik Bichay after he had emigrated to Canada. The same badges are shown on the MP Antique et Military website as on the current eBay listing noted above, and both websites identify all of the badges shown (probably the same seller on the MP Antique et Military website and the eBay listing). Reverse of one of the South African Air Force squadron badges from the same current eBay listing (identified on the listing as: S.A.A.F. No. 3 Bombing Group Maintenance Company enamelled lapel badge, showing the Bichay maker's mark. I have recently added some images of badges made by Fahmy Tewfik Bichay for the Free French Forces on the thread "Request for identification assistance-FFL" started by gfh on 8 February, 2018 in the "France" subsection of the "European States" forum section here on GMIC that shows a Cairo-made (by Bichay) Lignes Aeriennes Militaires badge. That thread also includes images of some original designs that gfh obtained from Fahmy Tewfik Bichay's brother (Sadek Tewfik Bichay?). I also illustrated a Polish UNEF II badge marked "T.BICHAY CAIRO" and provided a link to some other Tewfik Bichay-made UN badges on the thread I started on 17 August, 2020 - "Polish UN Peacekeeping Forces Badge for UNEF II-Cairo-Made" in the "Central & Eastern European States" subsection of the the "European States" forum section here on GMIC. Edited August 23, 2020 by Rusty Greaves
Rusty Greaves Posted August 26, 2020 Author Posted August 26, 2020 (edited) The same 3rd Class Commander neck badge of the Order of Ismail that I discussed in the first 3 photos of my post of 13 August, 2020 and in relation to the 1st photo of my post of 14 August on this thread, that has an anomalous wreath component has just re-surfaced on a current Liverpool Medals website auction, SKU 28988 (https://www.liverpoolmedals.com/product/order-of-ismail-commander-neck-badge-22ct-gold). The auction description states that this neck badge was made by Lattes but incorrectly states that it is hallmarked as 22 carat gold. Moderately high-resolution image of the obverse of the Liverpool Medals current auction offering of the 3rd Class Commander neck badge with an anomalous wreath component that is unlike any other example seen from Maison Lattes. This is the same 3rd Class neck badge that appeared in a 22 July, 2019 Auction by eMedals (Item M0306-1) that provided good photos of the obverse and reverse of this badge. It also is the same badge as the recent listed on the Spink website (Auction 20002, Lot 985). Again, I included high resolution images of the obverse of this badge from the July 2019 eMedals auction as the 1st (frontal) and 2nd (oblique) photos of my post of 22 August, 2019, as the 17th photo in my post of 28 March, 2020, and as the 1st photo of my August 14, 2020 post on this thread. I also illustrated the obverse image of this same badge from the recent 2020 Spink auction as the first 3 photos of my 13 August, 2020 post here on this thread. The spillover of the blue enamel, or irregularity in the gold margin, on the lower left finial (7:00 position) is the same as seen in the other photos I am attributing to this particular neck badge. The wreath shows the unusual configuration for a Lattes-made badge that is described in my 13 August post (the different number and configuration of gold laurel fruit dots, thinner and more irregular gold borders of the gold & red enamel bands around the wreath with some red enamel spillover, thiner enamel, and a size that obscures the gold border of each of the star's arms next to the central medallion). The engraving on the gold floral elements of the star's arms is the same as shown in the eMedals and Spink photographs, and is within the normal range of variation for Lattes-made examples. This image can be zoomed for greater detail, and the photo shows the thinner green enamel of the wreath quite well. Moderate-resolution image of the reverse of the same Order of Ismail 3rd Class neck badge from a current Liverpool Medals auction. I previously included images from the July 2019 eMedals auction of this same badge in my post of 22 August, 2019 that show better details of the reverse and hallmarks as the 3rd photo (frontal), 4th (oblique), and a close-up of the "LATTES" maker's mark and the 3 Egyptian gold hallmarks as the 5th image in the post. The last image in that prior post shows the Cairo assay office mark for 18 carat gold, the ibis hallmark for Egyptian-made gold, and the date hallmark of "Y" = 1923-1924. The resolution of the Liverpool Medals photo of the reverse is too low to read the Egyptian gold hallmarks clearly, but the Cairo Assay office mark and the ibis mark are slightly defined, and the "Y" date hallmark is not clearly distinguishable. Some of the marks on the reverse of this badge match those seen in the much higher resolution eMedals image, shown as the 5th photo in my post of 22 August, 2019. Although this badge is currently playing hot potato on the auction circuit (why? has someone else noticed the wreath anomaly in this piece?), the asking price on Liverpool Medals is approximately £1,795 greater than the likely price it just sold for about 1 month ago. Edited August 27, 2020 by Rusty Greaves
Rusty Greaves Posted September 21, 2020 Author Posted September 21, 2020 (edited) I obtained the Tewfik Bichai advertising flyer shown in my post of 21 August, 2020 and am illustrating the other pages in that advertisement in high-resolution scans below. These can all be zoomed, although that does not necessarily provide much additional detail of this flyer. This flyer may closely postdate when Tewfiq Bichay took over the Lattes workshop in the 1930s, as noted by Owain in his post on this thread of 19 August, 2020. Page 1 of the Tewfik Bichai post 1936 and pre-1952 advertising flyer showing a percussion press. The flyer opens with the attached pages 2 – 5, and page 6 is the back cover of the flyer. The advertisement measures 25 cm tall x 13 cm wide when folded, and 25 cm tall x 392 mm wide when opened. No printer is identified in the French information on the flyer. Page 2 of the same Tewfik Bichai advertising flyer showing the 4 most prestigious awards of the post-1915 period of the Egyptian Sultanate/Kingdom. Clockwise from the upper left, the Grand Cordon with Collar of the Order of Mohamed Ali (Nishan al-Muhammad’Ali, instituted 1915); the 1st Class Grand Cordon of the Order of Mohamed Ali sash badge (above) and breast star (below) (Type 2, modified in 1919); the 1st Class Grand Cordon sash badge (above) and breast star (below) of the Order of Ismail (Nishan al-Ismail, instituted 1922); and the 1st Class Grand Cordon sash badge (above) and breast star (below) of the Order of the Nile (Nishan al-Nil, instituted 1915). Page 3 of the same Tewfik Bichai advertising flyer showing in the upper left panel: the 1st Class Grand Cordon sash badge (above) and breast star (below) of the Order of Virtues (Nishan al-Kamal, instituted 1915); in the upper right panel, on the left: the obverse of the Medal for Meritorious Acts (what is the Arabic name of this medal?, instituted 1917); on the right: the obverse of the Medal for Devotion to Duty (Nu’ut al-Wa’agib, instituted 1920); in the lower portion of that same panel, on the left: the reverse of the Medal of Mohammed Ali (Nu’ut al-Muhammad’Ali, in either gold or silver, instituted 1915); and in the lower right of that panel: the Order of the Military Star of King Fuad I (Wisam Nigam al-Askariyal al Kawab al-Fu’al-Awwal, instituted 1919); on the bottom panel are 4 pins or badges that are regalia of positions serving the royal family, from left to right: the "Maid of Honor" of H.M. Queen Farida; the King’s Grand Chamberlain’s lapel pin; the lapel pin for the King’s other Chamberlains; and the King’s Master of Ceremonies lapel pin. All of the ciphers on the 3 rightmost pins are of King Farouk I. This flyer illustration usefully provides a small amount of information about some of the design variations of the Chamberlain’s pins, something Owain notes in his 26 March 2019 post is a bit problematic even in the displays of the Royal Jewelry Museum in Alexandria and the Abdine Place displays of such pins. I illustrated 2 Chamberlain’s pins as the 2nd and 3rd photos in my post of 26 March, 2019 on this thread. The second illustration of that post shows an example of the King’s Master of Ceremonies lapel pin that is identical to the one shown in this advertisement flyer. The 1st pin in my 26 March post shows a lapel pin with enamel rather than openwork as seen in the Tewfik Bichai flyer, so I am unsure if this suggests the pin is that of the Grand Chamberlain or the other Chamberlains (some internet sites using that image suggest it may be a version of the Grand Chamberlain's lapel pin). I also illustrated several Chamberlains wearing these pins (on the right lapel) in the 1st, 2nd, and 6th photos in my post of 2 April, 2019. That post also identifies the King’s Chamberlains (supposedly from the 1920s) consisting of the Grand Chamberlain, the Premier Chamberlain, and 4 Masters of Ceremonies. Owain illustrated several Chamberlains’ pins in the 3 photos in his posts of 26 March, 2019 on this thread. The 1st photo in that post is the same image of the enamel, gold (?), and jeweled pin as in my 1st photo of 26 March, and an identical design is shown as the pin on the right of his 2nd photo in Owain's 26 March post. The 3rd photo in Owain’s 26 March post also shows the openwork Master of Ceremonies lapel pin on the left, identical to that in the Tewfik Bichai flyer and the 2nd photo of my 26 March post. Owain also included 7 photos showing a grouping of pins on exhibit in Abdine Palace in his post of 29 March, 2019, also on this thread. That 29 March post shows 2 examples of Queen Farida’s “Maids of Honor” pins as the upper 2 pins in the 3rd photo of that post, that appear identical to that illustrated on this page of the Tewfik Bichai flyer. Page 4 of the same Tewfik Bichai advertising flyer showing in the upper left panel: the Collar of King Fuad I (Qiladat al-Fu’ad al-Awwal, instituted 1936); in the upper right panel: the sash badge (upper) and lapel badge (lower) of the Chamber of Deputies (the Lower House of the Egyptian Parliament) is on the left; and on the right are the sash badge (upper) and lapel badge (lower) of the Chamber of Senators (the Upper House of Parliament). See the posts in the GMIC thread “Unknown Arabic Medal ??” started by Linasl on 23 July, 2020 in the "Middle East & Arab States" section for discussions and additional images of these Egyptian Parliamentary insignia. The bottom panel illustrates (from left to right) the obverse of the 1st Class (Commander) Order of Agriculture (Nishan al-Zira’ah, instituted 1932); the obverse of the 1st Class (Commander) Order of Culture (Nishan al-Ma’aref, instituted 1932, also called the Order of Education); and the obverse of the 1st Class (Commander) Order of Trade & Industry (Nishan al-Sinaa wa al-Tigara, instituted 1932). Page 5 of the same Tewfik Bichai advertising flyer that appears to illustrate 9 sport medals from unspecified competitions in the upper panel (clockwise from top center, 12:00 position): for shotput, discus, tennis, boxing, weightlifting, wrestling, probably handball (?), javelin; and in the center: hurdles. The lower panel shows 24 unspecified badges or pins that appear to include military insignia, royal regalia, and other emblems, possibly of civic organizations. I mentioned some pins that Fahmy Tewfiq Bichay manufactured for other countries during WW II in my post of 21 August, 2020, as well as later UN badges. I also have seen some automobile badges and decorative radiator caps made by Tewfiq Bichay (father) for the Touring Club d'Egypte and the Royal Automobile Club d'Egypte. However, I have not investigated the pins/badges shown in low detail in the lower panel of this page of the flyer. Page 6, the back cover of the same folding Tewfik Bichai advertising flyer. The upper right corner repeats the emblem identifying Bichai as the purveyor to H.M. the King that helps bracket the date for this flyer as after the Sultanate of King Fuad I was changed to Kingship in 1922 and prior to the forced abdication of King Farouk I in the 1952 revolution (as noted in my post of August 21, 2020, rue Soliman Pasha was renamed Talaat Harb probably in 1954). The most recently instituted regalia illustrated in this flyer is from 1936 (the Collar of King Fuad I). Owain states in his 19 August, 2020 post on this thread from notes of an interview with Fahmy Tewfiq Bichay that his father, Tewfiq Bichay, took over the Lattes workshop sometime in the 1930s. These bracketing dates also are consistent with the illustration of ciphers for King Farouk I on all of the Chamberlains’ lapel pins shown on page 3 of the advertising flyer, dating from after Farouk I’s assumption of the throne in 1936. Above is an image of the reverse of another example of a South African Air Force squadron badge for the S.A.A.F. No. 3 Bombing Group Maintenance Company enamelled lapel badge, obtained by the same eBay seller from Fahmy Tewfiq Bichay, as noted in my post of 21 August, 2020. The is the same form of badge as shown in the 2nd photo of my post of 21 August, but carries the Fahmy Tewfik Bichay Arabic maker's mark in contrast with the English language mark on the example shown in my previous post. Edited September 23, 2020 by Rusty Greaves correcting dates of some medal institutions
Rusty Greaves Posted October 31, 2020 Author Posted October 31, 2020 (edited) I have only found one good photograph of someone wearing the ribbon of the Order of Ismail. Below is a black & white photograph of King Farouk I taken by the well-known Life Magazine photographer Margaret Bourke-White in approximately 1940, and this is the best image I have seen on the internet of the Order of Ismail ribbon. In this photograph, King Farouk wears 2 ribbon bar with a total of 5 ribbons that can readily be identified. There are several other photographs of King Farouk wearing these same 5 ribbons, but this is the only image I have come across that shows the ribbons quite well. There also are many photographs of him wearing many more ribbons, but again those are from a further distance and do not provide any useful detail of the ribbons. This version of Margaret Bourke-White’s portrait of King Farouk I is the best resolution version I have found on the internet. It comes from Tulip Noire’s flickr site (https://www.flickr.com/photos/8637723@N05/3528022536) and has his watermarks in the lower left, and on the King’s right shoulder board in addition to the “LIFE” watermark on the lower right. Tulip Noire identifies the date of this portrait as July 1940. Several versions of a slightly lower resolution print with a few folds and tears to the images also are common online. I find this a dreadful portrait of the young King, looking even more sleepy-eyed than many of his portraits and his moustaches are quite wispy. I think I can identify all 5 ribbons in the b&w image, using Owain Raw-Rees’s JOMSA articles “King Farouk and his Awards (2006, JOMSA, Vol 57, No. 4, pp: 15-23) and King Farouk’s and his Miniature Medals (pp: 1-8). The top row is (L-R) the Order of Mohammed Ali (green with white inset border stripes), the Order of Ismail (dark blue with inset red border stripes), & the Order of the Nile (pale blue with gold inset border stripes). I think the 2nd row is (L-R): the Order of the Military Star of King Fuad I (central stripe of black bordered by yellow stripes of the same width, bordered by pale blue stripes also of the same width, and narrow yellow margin stripes); and the single colored ribbon is almost certainly the Medal for Meritorious Acts (violet). Although King Farouk I also was awarded the Medal for Devotion to Duty that has a single color ribbon (medium blue), the identification of this as the Medal for Meritorious Acts comes from Owain's research in his 2006 JOMSA article. Owain Raw-Rees has illustrated specially-made versions of these 5 medals sized for wear by King Farouk I on his undress uniform (see the 1st illustration in the Raw-Rees 2006 article for images of these medals from Abdine Palace, descriptions of the awards, and additional information about the King's awards; and the 2nd photo in the Raw-Rees 2018 OMRS publication cited below) in addition to a a photo of King Farouk I wearing this special grouping (Raw-Rees 2006, 2nd photo, and the same image is the 3rd photo in the Raw-Reese 2018 OMRS publication cited below). Owain published an article on King Farouk’s miniature medals in the OMRS publication Miniature Medals World (Owain Raw-Rees, 2018, Egypt-King Farouk and his Dress Miniatures, Miniature Medals World, No 130. March), added to the Abdine Palace display at a later date, showing the same grouping. Owain also has generously allowed me to post those photos here below as the 14th-16th photos of this post. Owain includes 2 photographs of King Farouk I wearing that miniature set of 5 medals in the 2018 OMRS publication (5th photo) while seated next to his cousin Price Abbas Halim (c. 1939) and a portrait with Queen Farida at his 22nd birthday celebration on 11 February, 1944 (6th photo). Owain also includes images of another set of 6 miniatures in the Abdine Palace display that includes the addition of 1948 Palestine War medal (7th photo in his 2018 OMRS publication) and another interesting image of King Farouk I (with goatee) in exile wearing white tie and tails and a chain of unidentified miniatures in addition to a sash and 3 breast stars (8th photo of the 2018 OMRS publication). I have found a few complementary photos of King Farouk wearing his miniatures (the 2nd-7th photos below) and the chain of miniatures (the 8th-13th photos below) that I am including below for comparison with those that Owain already had published in the 2 cited articles. Owain's image of King Farouk I wearing his miniature medals while standing next to Queen Farida at his 22nd birthday celebration on 11 February, 1944 (6th photo in his 2018 article on the King's miniatures) is a cropped version that comes from the above group portrait in Abdine Palace. This version of that portrait comes from Wikimedia and is the best version of this image I have found online (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ModernEgypt,_Farouk_%26_Farida_Marriage,_DHP13655-20-2_01.jpg). This photo can be zoomed, but it does not show the medals in any detail. The Wikimedia commons description of this photo identifies this as from the King's 22nd birthday celebration in Abdine Palace and the photo was published on 11 May in 830th issue of the weekly magazine Rose al-Yūsuf. The people depicted in the photograph are (from left to right): Queen Farida, Farouk's wife; King Farouk I; Princess Nimet Mouhtar, Farouk's paternal aunt; Princess Faiza, Farouk's sister; Princess Faika, Farouk's sister; and Princess Fathia, Farouk's sister. The best cropped version of the above photo with slightly better resolution of King Farouk I’s miniature medals than shown in the 6th photo of Owain's 2018 article on the King's miniature medals. This is a cropped version derived from the same image above that is on askamel’s flickr photostream (https://www.flickr.com/photos/askamel/1417345069/). This photo can be zoomed for only a bit more detail. Above the medal bar of miniatures is an Egyptian Royal Air Force insignia (seen in better detail in the portrait of the King shown in the last illustration of this post). Another group portrait from the same 22nd birthday event also showing King Farouk I wearing his miniature medals. This photo can be zoomed for a bit more detail, but again it does not show the medals with any clarity. From Wikipedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ModernEgypt,_Farouk_%26_Farida_Marriage,_DHP13655-20-2_01.jpg) that incorrectly identifies the event as the wedding of King Farouk I and Queen Farida. From left-right: Queen Nazli; Queen Farida; King Farouk I; Princess Nimet-Alah (Mouthar), and Princess Faiza. Low-resolution image of King Farouk I with Reza Pahlavi (far right), the then Crown Prince (later Shah) of Iran (probably in 1939) showing King Farouk I wearing the same set of 5 miniatures identified by Owain, from the flickr photostram of Zainab Mohamed (https://www.flickr.com/photos/96884693@N00/810559476/in/set-72157610800968278/). Another photo of King Farouk I wearing these same 5 minis with Shahpour Mohammad Reza Pahlavi during other events celebrating the Royal Wedding celebration of Reza Pahlavi's wedding to Farouk I's sister, Princess Fawzia in 1939. From the Fickr photostram of askamel (https://www.flickr.com/photos/askamel/1909849303). Another group portrait taken during the celebrations of Princess Fawzia's wedding to Reza Pahlavi in 1939 showing King Farouk I wearing this same set of 5 miniatures that Owain has identified. This is the best version I have found of this portrait online, from Wikimedia (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ModernEgypt,_Wedding_of_Mohammad_Reza_Pahlavi_%26_Fawzia,_DHP13655-20-5_01.jpg). The Wikimedia caption for this images states that: "The Bibliotheca Alexandrina's caption erronesouly states that this is a commemorative photograph of the wedding of King Farouk I and Queen Farida of Egypt. In fact, it is a commemorative photograph of the wedding of Farouk's sister Princess Fawzia and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the then crown prince (later shah) of Iran. The persons sitting in the front row who can be identified with certainty are (from left to right": Sultana Malek (1869-1956), widow of Hussein Kamel, the bride's paternal uncle; Queen Farida (1921-1988), wife of King Farouk I; King Farouk I (1920-1965); the bride's brother wearing black tie and a tarboosh; Queen Nazli (1894-1978), the bride's mother; Princess Fawzia (1921-2013), the bride wearing a wedding dress; Crown Price Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran (1919-1980), the groom, in military uniform with a chain over his chest. Queen Tadj ol-Molouk (1896-1982, the groom's mother. In the upper side of the photograph can be seen the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Egypt (left) and the coat of arms of Pahlavi Iran (right). The wedding is considered an important event in the history of Egyptian-Iranian relations, as well as a milestone in Shi'a-Sunni relations: King Farouk I was the ruler of the Muslim world's most powerful Sunni country, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was crown prince of the world's largest Shi'a country, and the wedding ceremony was performed by Mustafa al-Maraghi, rector of Al-Azhar, the world's foremost Sunni religious institution." Wikimedia gives the source of this photo as: the Biblioteca Alexandrina's Memory of Modern Egypt Digital Archive. The photo was probably taken by the Riad Shihata Studio in Cairo. I also have seen a few other photographs online of King Farouk I wearing a chain of miniatures, but as with Owain’s published image (8th photo in his 2018 OMRS publication), none are high enough resolution to identify the miniature medals on his chain. All of the photos I have encountered of Farouk wearing a chain of miniatures are from the period of exile, so it appears the miniature medals on such a chain are likely (mostly?) his foreign awards. A photograph of goateed ex-King Farouk I with Grace Kelly and Prince Ranier of Monaco that of miniature medals, with the same sash and 3 breast stars as in Owain's 8th photo in his 2018 OMRS publication, suggesting they may both be from the same event in Monaco. Farouk I wears the sash and breast star of the Order of St. Charles (Monaco) in the premier position, followed by the Legion d'Honneur (France), and the Order of Isabella the Catholic (Spain). This is the best online version of this portrait that I have found online (from: https://www.3ain.net/Article/76095/شاهد-من-هى-جريس-كيلى-راعية-ابن-الملك-فاروق-الأول). This same photo (Image ID:A2JM84) is offered for sale on the alamy webisite (https://www.alamy.com/grace-kelly-with-husband-prince-ranier-of-monaco-and-ex-king-farouk-image3439747.html). A lower-resolution version of this image on tumblr (https://graceandfamily.tumblr.com/post/143803793407/vintage-photo-of-rainier-iii-grace-kelly-and-king) identifies the event as the civil wedding of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainer III in 1956. A film made during the wedding events in Monaco shows Prince Ranier and Grace Kelly in these same costumes at the opera following their private civil marriage ceremony and prior to their cathedral wedding (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiOKFzRHm14). Another image of King Faoruk I in exile wearing the chain of miniature medals, This image comes from From Magda Malek’s flickr photostream: https://www.flickr.com/photos/magdamalek/2898379473/ . The event is identified as a January 1962 visit to Switzerland, where King Farouk I and his daughter Princess Fawzia were attending the wedding of King Simeon II of Bulgaria and Margarita Gomez-Acebo. Another photograph that may show a chain of miniatures featuring King Farouk I with his daughter Princess Ferial at Cannes in 1957 with 2 breast stars visible, but only that of the Grand Cross of the Legion d'Honneur (France) can be readily identified. From a 28 January, 2014 article by Paul Crompton, "Egypt’s King Farouk: philanderer or family man?” in the English language version of (https://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2014/01/28/Egypt-s-King-Farouk-philanderer-or-family-man-), photo courtesy of Amr Talaat. Another photograph of King Farouk I wearing the chain of minis with his daughter Princess Ferial during his exile. (From Hassan Kamel-Kelisi-Morali's flickr site: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelisli/4844899791/) A photograph of King Farouk with former opera singer, and his former lover, Irma Capece Minutely that also appears to show Farouk wearing a chain of miniatures on his coat, only partly visible because of his cape, This image is for sale on the IMS Vintage Photos website (SKU: SCAN-NOP-0000102367). The clothing and floor in the image show this to be from the same event as shown in the next image below that is associated with some contextual information. (From: https://imsvintagephotos.com/kingfaroukofegyptrightandirmacapeceminutololeft102367) Another image of the Farouk next to Irma Capece Minutolo on the Photorientalist webiste (http://www.photorientalist.org/easymedia/exiled-king-farouk-and-narriman/farouk-in-no-moot-for-small-talk/)) in the same outfits barely shows what may be a chain of miniatures. The caption identifies the context as King Farouk I passing his ex-geilfriend with no comment at an unspecified event in October, 1956. The following 3 photos are courtesy of Owain Raw-Rees and are from his published articles on previously unattributed medals on display in Abdine Palace that he has inentified as those of King Farouk I. Owain's illustration of the specially-sized set of 5 medals (1st photo in Owain Raw-Rees, 2006, “King Farouk and his Awards", JOMSA, Vol 57, No. 4, pp: 15-23; also shown as the 2nd photo in: Owain Raw-Rees, 2018, "Egypt-King Farouk and his Dress Miniatures", Miniature Medals World, No 130. March). This photo is courtesy of Owain Raw-Rees and is copyrighted by him. Owain has included a photo of King Farouk 1 wearing this bar while standing next to his uncle Prince Mohammed Ali Tewfiq as the 2nd photo of his 2006 JOMSA article and as the 3rd photo in his 2018 OMRS publication. These are the 5 awards represented by their bars in the Life shown as the 1st photo above in this post. These medals include, from left-right: the Order of Mohammed Ali, the Order of Ismail, the Order of the Nile, the Order of the Military Star of King Fuad I, and the Medal for Meritorious Acts. Owain notes in his 2006 JOMSA article that King Farouk I had Bichay made these slightly smaller medals (not miniatures) of the Order of Mohammed Ali, the Order of Ismail, and the Order of the Nile that were scaled down to the size of the the Order of the Military Star of King Fuad I, and the Medal for Meritorious Acts was enlarged to wear as an aesthetically homogeneous single row on his undress uniform. Owain's illustration of the 5 miniature medals of King Farouk I (1st photo in Owain Raw-Rees, 2018, "Egypt-King Farouk and his Dress Miniatures", Miniature Medals World, No 130. March). This photo is courtesy of Owain Raw-Rees and copyrighted by him. The miniatures include, from left-right: the Order of Mohammed Ali, the Order of Ismail, the Order of the Nile, the Order of the Military Star of King Fuad I, and the Medal for Meritorious Acts. This is the grouping that King Farouk I is shown wearing in the above photos of his 22nd birthday and during events celebrating the wedding of Princess Fawzia's to Reza Pahlavi in 1939. Another set of miniatures of the same 5 awards with the addition of the 1948 Palestine War Media at the far right. This image is the 7th photo in: Owain Raw-Rees, 2018, "Egypt-King Farouk and his Dress Miniatures", Miniature Medals World, No 130. March. This photo is courtesy of Owain Raw-Rees and copyrighted by him. A less common portrait of King Farouk I from 1944 wearing the Egyptian Royal Air Force wings above 3 breasts stars; the Order of Mohamed Ali, the Order of Ismail, and the Iranian Order of Pahlavi (From: https://www.facebook.com/331743570826079/photos/a.331746860825750/331746870825749/?type=1&theater). Edited November 2, 2020 by Rusty Greaves
Rusty Greaves Posted November 16, 2020 Author Posted November 16, 2020 (edited) A current eBay listing is offering a copy of the Egyptian Order of Ismail from a seller based in the Ukraine (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Kingdom-of-Egypt-imperial-award-Order-of-Nishan-Al-Ismail-1915-y-type-copy-/114479374343). The eBay description does clearly identify this as a copy, as are other offerings from this business, AwardsEmpire. The description states that the materials are alloy plating and cold enamel (painting?). Although a copy, the detail is fairly accurate, if much less beautiful than the real thing. Obverse of this eBay seller's copy of a neck badge of the Order of Ismail, associated with an incorrect color scheme and form of ribbon. While a quite faithful copy of the design elements, the workmanship is clearly that of a cast copy. Reverse of this same copy of an Order of Ismail offered by AwardsEmpire from the current eBay listing. Edited November 16, 2020 by Rusty Greaves
Rusty Greaves Posted November 16, 2020 Author Posted November 16, 2020 (edited) A second eBay seller from the Russian Federation also is offering a modern copy of the Egyptian Order of Ismail, this seller is identified as running the MedalsShop (https://www.ebay.com/str/RusMedals?_trksid=p2047675.l2563). This appears to be the same workmanship as the example I illustrated yesterday, which is a good-quality copy of the design elements of authentic regalia of this award. This listing also identifies this as a copy and describes the materials as a "molding color alloy" of nickel, tin, brass, & zinc and calls the colored portions "enamel". The dimensions are given as 8 xm X 8 cm and has a weight of 53 g. "Cold enamel" (as described for the AwardsEmpire copy) is a pigmented epoxy resin that is painted on, it does not require curing with high temperatures, and adheres to a range of materials . This additional eBay offering of this copy provides a few slightly higher-resolution images that I am including below. Obverse of the MedalsShop copy of the Order of Ismail that is the same workmanship and design as the AwardsEmpire offering I posted here yesterday. Reverse of the same MedalsShop copy of an Egyptian Order of Ismail on the eBay website. The MedalsShop copy of an Order of Ismail "neck badge" in its case showing the same incorrect ribbon color scheme and form as offered in the AwardsEmpire eBay listing. Edited November 18, 2020 by Rusty Greaves
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