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Auction: 3016 - Orders, Medals, Decorations & Militaria
Lot: 449

THE PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN NOBLE FAMILY

Turkey, Order of Hilal Nisani (Order of the Crescent), an a well made and extremely rare bullion and cloth Star, c.1800, oval, 89mm. x 79.5mm., the central Star and Crecent devices, and also the rays of the star, covered with overlapping silver scales, eyelets for sewing at each point, extremely fine, extremely rare

Medals of Vaka-i Misriye and some variations of this medal called the Order of the Crescent (Hilal) were struck during the reign of Sultan III Selim III Mustafa'nin (1789-1807), to commemorate events in Egypt during the invasion by the French under Napoleon in 1798 and their subsequent defeat by the British in Abukir Bay, 1798, and at Cairo and Alexandria, 1801.
There is documentary evidence that the Sultan instituted the Order of the Crescent specifically to reward Nelson for his services at the Battle of the Nile in 1798 ( a similar cloth Star can be seen on Admiral Nelson's coat, preserved at Greenwich). Further bestowal of this Order is not noted until after the successful conclusion of the campaign in Egypt by General Abercrombie in 1801, and even then very sparingly to only a small number of high ranking British Officers.

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Estimate
£3,500 to £4,000