Order of the Precious Crown 6th Class

[TracA]

Greetings,

 

I have always found the Order of the Precious Crown to be a stunningly beautiful award, especially in the higher, enameled classes. Although I did go after a 3rd Class cased award in a recent auction (and got smoked, I might add) I was able to pick-up this beautiful cased 6th Class via private sale. It really came into its own after the seller did some clean-up of the enameled surfaces.

 

I use Peterson’s Orders and Medals as my basic guide, but I always search GMIC and Medals of Asia for additional information and wonderful color pictures. While looking at JapanX’s 2013 thread https://gmic.co.uk/topic/61163-orders-of-the-precious-crown-from-collection-of-davids/ I discovered something not mentioned in Peterson: on the top “rising sun” disc of the headdress is a representation of Yatagarasu, the mythical three-legged crow (technically “eight-span crow”). Shame on me for not doing a thorough inspection of my piece with a 25X magnifying glass in good light, but after seeing JapanX’s old thread I trotted out the magnifier and there was Yatagarasu, plain as day. This kind of information really shows the power of GMIC and the users who share their knowledge and expertise.

 

Two notes about my piece: (1) it has a PF hallmark on the reverse at 6h (see below) and (2) the silver of the central medallion has a pleasing blue-hued tarnish to it.

 

I hope that you enjoy this aesthetically enchanting award.

 

Tracy

 

Obverse with rosette.

 

 

 

Close-up of enameled leaves. Note the silver outlines and stems.

 

 

Close-up of the wave crests. Beautiful enameling.

 

 

Although not the best picture, but the best one that I could get, there is Yatagarasu. As a bonus, in this picture the blue-hued tarnish to the central medallion really stands out.

 

 

Plain reverse. Note: the photo shows the reverse darker than it really is.

 

 

Close-up of the mark PF. I note that as of October 28, 2023 this two-letter hallmark is not listed on the Medals of Asia website.

 

 

Finally, the lacquered case lid.

 

[JapanX]

Nice specimen. It was issued around 1996 https://asiamedals.info/threads/two-letter-and-letter-digit-marks-on-japanese-orders-and-medals.13720/

 

Regarding Empress' crown /hokan/ with Yatagarasu.

 

 

Emperor's crown benkan also has it.

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by JapanX

[TracA]

Thank you, Nick. Also, thank you for the estimated date of issue and for the wonderful pictures of both the Emperor's and Empress' crowns. 

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

[No one]

Dear Gentlemen,

 

The lacquered case lid.

 

 

From the NHK:

 

 

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

[TracA]

No One,

 

Thank you for the kanji representation. It's always good to see a side-by-side comparison. In addition, it's great to see photos of orders in actual wear. Look at all of those 1st Class Orders!

 

Question: any idea what that is on the sash at the top on the right shoulder of the wearer? 

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

[No one]

Dear TracA,

 

I don't know anything about it, it's a brooch.

 

 

Some queens do have one some don't.

 

 

 

 

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

[Megan]

It is common, but not universal, practice for female recipients of sash-grades of orders to use a small brooch to ensure that the sash remains where it should on the often slippery surface of an evening gown.

 

Male recipients either are in uniform (with shoulder straps to keep the sash in place) or evening dress (white tie/tails) where the sash is worn UNDER the jacket & so is held in place by it, and often a cut-down sash is worn which is affixed to the waistcoat with buttons rather than passing over the shoulder & down the back!

[TracA]

12 hours ago, Megan said:

It is common, but not universal, practice for female recipients of sash-grades of orders to use a small brooch to ensure that the sash remains where it should on the often slippery surface of an evening gown.

 

Male recipients either are in uniform (with shoulder straps to keep the sash in place) or evening dress (white tie/tails) where the sash is worn UNDER the jacket & so is held in place by it, and often a cut-down sash is worn which is affixed to the waistcoat with buttons rather than passing over the shoulder & down the back!

 

Megan,

 

Ahhhh, now it makes perfect sense. Thank you for the explanation. 

 

All the best,

 

Tracy