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PICHON & NOUDEL-DENIAU, Commissaires-Priseurs
354
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BELGIUM – ORDER OF LEOPOLD – PLAQUE OF GRAND OFFICER (CIVIL …
See original version (French)
354
-
BELGIUM – ORDER OF LEOPOLD – PLAQUE OF GRAND OFFICER (CIVIL …
See original version (French)
Estimate €300 - €500
Voluntary lot
Description
BELGIUM – ORDER OF LEOPOLD – PLAQUE OF GRAND OFFICER (CIVIL DIVISION), PRESUMED TO HAVE BELONGED TO DA’UD EFFENDI MOLKO, FIRST ‘DRAGOMAN’ TRANSLATOR OF THE IMPERIAL DIVAN.
In silver, the arms of the cross worked with diamond-pointed tips, interspersed with smooth rays. Enamelled gold centre, with a vermeil border. Gold lion motif (slight damage to one paw)
Reverse with a hinged clasp and two hooks, bearing the maker’s mark of Wolfers in Brussels.
93 mm. Gross weight: 105.34 g.
Very good condition.
Provenance: Da’ud Effendi Molko, then by descent
Biography:
Da’ud Effendi Molko (sometimes also referred to as Mollo or Molho).
Chief translator at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Da’ud was born in Thessaloniki in 1845. Coming from a modest background, his family moved to Constantinople whilst he was still a child, and he attended primary school at the Camondo Institute. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the age of 18 and rose to the post of chief translator during the reign of Sultan Abd al-Aziz, retaining this position when Abd al-Hamid II ascended the throne.
Da’ud was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nishan-i-Osmaniye, the Nishan-i-Medjidiye and the Nishan-i-Imtiaz, as well as the Persian Order of the Sun and the Lion. He was also a Commander of the Legion of Honour, a recipient of the Order of the Prussian Crown, and a Grand Cross of the Polar Star.
Biography from ‘Univers israélite’, 15 January 1897.
Expert: Arnaud de Gouvion Saint-Cyr
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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