Miniatures of the Middle East & Arab World

[Rusty Greaves]

Here are a couple of miniature medals from an eMedals auction of 30 December, 2022 (https://www.emedals.com/brunei-egypt-japan-saudi-arabia-vietnam-a-lot-of-five-miniature-awards). Item: W7495 was a set of 5 miniature medals that included one from Egypt and one from the Kingdom of Iraq. Additionally, the offering consisted of: 1). Brunei. Royal Brunei Malay Regiment General Service Medal (Pingat Laila Tugas), in silver 2). Japan, Empire. Order of the Sacred Treasure (瑞宝章 / Zuihōshō), in silver 3). Vietnam, Republic. Armed Forces Honour Medal, First Class (Huân chương danh dự lực lượng vũ trang), in gilt  bronze. 

 

                                                            

 

A low-resolution image of an Egyptian Republic miniature of the Order of the Republic (Nishan al-Istikal). Instituted in 1955 in 3 classes for contributions to establishing the Republic, it became obsolete in 1965. 

 

                                                      

 

A low-resolution image of a miniature of the Kingdom of Iraq General Service Medal Nut al-Khidmat Al-Awal King Faisal I, instituted in 1926. The eMedals description mistakenly identifies this as from Saudi Arabia. Obverse of left, reverse on right. The obverse is inscribed "General Service" and the reverse is inscribed "King Faisal I" with the Hijri date 1344, which can be 1925 or 1926 AD but here refers to the institution of the medal in 1926 AD. The obverse imagery is two crossed rifles (butts inferior, barrels superior) joined with rays of the sun. 

 

 

[Rusty Greaves]

Below is a very crudely made miniature Order of the Nile from a current eBay offering (https://www.ebay.com/itm/125817753727?hash=item1d4b52907f:g:-XUAAOSwsR1kDmB6&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4HQq9Tc2%2B4s3YKb0BCagrDjglPCcRj0yFHFvVQpO0dOunFNU0%2FtpZGLHq4lDbXFORav14Paqto45%2ByCQVg1uhTYNeqHDaHMX6ThF5GS35YW2XhorxAK9Z1BF%2BKd5QBP%2FdbkAPwniMoUfv2EVzBh8ADdVEBfxu6v1SUnJAVEUPQrCWYGcwHgA%2BedPcom6UOOeFiPlCpHyrV0%2FhKX38ngQDYEJDbkVhq7MEza%2FpwrJp4sVKUTsGQ5BgDNvNYBQ4datstiAIPKbXtZhN%2BNKZaY81eem4PgtbNnIPe9d36tFnF%2BI|tkp%3ABk9SR47oqYKKYw). No information is provided in the written description. 

 

 

Above is a moderate-resolution image of the obverse of this current eBay example of a miniature Order of the Nile. This is a 3rd Class mini as indicated by the rosette with a lack of any galon. It is evident that the workmanship is quite rudimentary. The form of the attachment of the rayed embellishment to the crown suspension element is perhaps the most simple form shown on any of the miniature Order of the Nile examples in this thread. The calligraphy of the central boss also is very crude, resembling that shown in a couple of Nile minis on this thread: the 1st photo in my post of 2 April, 2018; and especially in the 8th photo of my post of 2 October, 2018 that presents a clear image of the inscription. Obviously, the obverse face of the ribbon has experienced significant fading. 

 

 

A very slightly higher-resolution close-up image of this same miniature Order of the Nile from eBay.

 

 

Reverse of this same eBay miniature 3rd Class Order of the Nile miniature. No maker's mark is visible on the reverse. The detailed reverse of the crown suspension device is quite unusual. Only one other example of an Order of the Nile mini illustrated on this tread shows full detailing of the reverse of crown (2nd photo in my post of 11 November, 2022), all other examples shown on this thread exhibit a plain reverse of the crown suspension device. 

Edited December 9, 2023 by Rusty Greaves

[oamotme]

Rusty,

The tarnishing/oxidisation really does make a mess of this example.

Owain

[Rusty Greaves]

I am illustrating here a miniature Order of the Nile that resembles 5 other examples shown on this thread. This image comes from an 8 December, 2021 auction by Noonans Mayfair, Lot 302 (https://www.noonans.co.uk/auctions/archive/lot-archive/results/410985/?keywords=Egypt&discipline=&category=&date_on=8+December+2021&date_start=&date_end=&lot_no=302). This set of 5 miniatures is identified as having been awarded to Captain W. P. “Cocky” Cockburn. A lower resolution version of this photograph is archived on the Invaluable website (https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/miniature-medals-302-c-69f4944874?objectID=166703199&algIndex=undefined&queryID=df8282935f00948cc6587dbe3785da0b). This particular photo is the highest-resolution photo I have found online for miniature Order of the Nile compared with the other 5 similar examples, providing excellent detail of the obverse of the workmanship of this mini. 

 

 

High resolution photo of the complete set on miniature medals offered on 8 December, 2021 auction by Noonans Mayfair, Lot 302. Both the Noonans Mayfair and the invaluable listings identify Captain W. P. Cockburn as “a ‘Special List’ officer who served under Colonel Cyril Wilson, the British Representative at the Jeddah Consulate; operating under the auspices of the Arab Bureau at Cairo”. The auction description includes both the names of Cpt. Cockburn’ s awards and the dates of their notices published in the London Gazette Supplements. The set includes (L-R): O.B.E. (Military, Officer’s 1st type breast badge London Gazette 3 June 1919, “For services rendered during the war”,  He had previously been awarded the M.B.E., London Gazette 18 November 1918, “For distinguished service in connection with military operations in Egypt”); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. London Gazette 17 September 1917, 7 October 1918 [Egypt], and 24 March 1919 [Mesopotamia], and the Egyptian Order of the Nile, London Gazette 4 April 1918. The full-size awards included cases and award documents for Capt. Cockburn.

 

                       

 

Very high resolution image of the miniature Order of the Nile miniature of Captain W. P. Cockburn. This form of an Order of the resembles 5 other Nile minis illustrated on this thread. It is similar to Owain's medal shown in the photo he posted on 11 December, 2017 (obverse shown in the upper row far R). Owain's esxample shows a piercing of the crown suspension element just above the swivel where the body of the medal attaches to the crown that is not evident on the Noonans Mayfair example. Owain illustrated the reverse of this same mini in the 1st photo of his post of 12 December, 2017 (upper row far R). The obverse of another similar Order of the Nile miniature is shown in the 2nd photo of my post of 14 February, 2018, from a past eBay offering. This example does not have the deep and complete separation of each ray of the embellishment and the crown lacks the markings of the "interior" of the crown, has slightly different decorations of the inferior band of the crown, and has more complete perforations between the arches. The reverse of that mini is shown in the second image of that same post. A comparable mini is illustrated in my post of 22 July, 2018 of a Spink & Son auction (Lot 743) archived on the Saleroom website as the Order of the Nile on the right. This mini has an essentially identical crown, but the most central portion of the rayed embellishment represents a solid facetted ring around the central five-pointed star. A low-resolution image of another similar Order of the Nile mini is shown in the 3 composite images (showing the medals in their case on the L;  the obverse in the center; and reverse on the right side image) from an acsearch auction archive site that are the first illustration in my post of 14 January, 2019. Although difficult to distinguish, the crown appears quite similar, and the central portion of the rayed embellishment also exhibits some solid portion near the center and almost lobed distal portions of each separate ray. A somewhat similar miniature Order of the Nile is shown in 2 sequential posts of min on this thread: first that of 27 September, 2022 and 11 November, 2022 (a higher-resolution image of this medal that can be zoomed for better detail). This example with 3 broken superior rays exhibits much less complete separation of each ray in the embellishment. It also has some differences in the decoration and execution of the crown suspension element. Most notably, there is no piercing of the spaces between the crown's arches, lack of a depiction of the crown "interior, and more floral that leaf-like decorations (analogous to the fleur0-de0lys of European crowns) running below the arches.