Interesting Egyptian orders in Spink Auction

[Markus]

Some very beautiful Egyptian order medals in the Spink Auction today. The order of Ismail has always been one of the most beautiful Egyptian Order medals. The two Monarchy in Exile medals are elaborate works of art as well. I haven’t seen the two exile orders before.

[Rusty Greaves]

Thanks for illustrating these offerings. At 72 mm in diameter, the Order of Ismail chest star represents the 2nd Class Grand Officer version. The "B" mark indicates a date of 1927-28. The neck badge is either a 2nd Class Grand Officer or 3rd Class Commander award. I believe that both the 2nd & 3rd Classes are the same diameter, but I am looking through some other auction data to see if there is any difference in sizes between well-identified examples of the Grand Officer and Commander classes of the neck  badge. The "Z" mark on the neck badge indicates a 1924-25 date. The auction description does not suggest they are a Grand Officer set, and if the dates are correct that also would indicate there are not associated. 

922F provided an illustration of the new monarchy in exile award of the Nishan al-Noor, Order of Light (that Spink lists as the Order of Women), on his post of 22 April, 2018 on the thread "Question about the Order of Ismail/Nishan al-Ismail" I started on 7 November, 2017 here in the Middle East & Arab States section.  He also stated that the Order of Mohammed Ali is one of the Orders that the monarchy in exile still awards (this Spink example is identical to the pre-1952 Grand Cordon award, one of King Fuad II's favorite to wear along with the Order of Ismail and Order of the Nile. 

[Markus]

Thanks so much for all the details Rusty!??

[Rusty Greaves]

Anyone who loves the the Order of Ismail is a pal in my book. You also reminded me I should try to codify measurements for each class. Many of the "identifications" I see on auction sites are problematic, but some do provide metrics, and I may have looked at enough examples now to be able figure out the correct dimensions. That would be a useful addition to my Order of Ismail thread, so thanks for providing me something else I could contribute there. 

Cheers!

[peter monahan]

Truly gorgeous objects, even if one ignores the medallic and historic importance.

The book is good news too, Rusty!  Good on ya, cobber!

Peter

[ChrisW]

Thanks for pointing out the two King Fuad II in exile orders! I skimmed through the catalog photos but missed that in the text. So the only difference is in the presentation boxes, not the orders themselves?

 

[Rusty Greaves]

The monarchy in exile version of the Order of Mohamed Ali illustrated in the Spink catalogue is the same design as the pre-1952 revolution period award. As I understand what 922F indicated in his 22 April, 2018 post on the "Question about the Order of Ismail/Nishan al-Ismail" thread is that the Nishan al-Noor, Order of Light (that Spink lists as the Order of Women) is a new design that has no pre-revolution equivalent. 

[Paul R]

Thank you for sharing these beautiful awards with us!!