Miniature ten-pointed faceted silver star with silver gilt five-pointed stars between the arms, on swivel crown suspension surmounted by a crescent; the face with a circular central blue enamel medallion imposed bearing a five-pointed silver gilt star, encircled by a red enamel ring inscribed in gilt Arabic letters; the reverse plain; diameter 15.29mm (0.6 inch); a small loss of red enamel from the upper left of the ring; on original ribbon cut short with rosette denoting an award of the officer class. The Order was instituted in 1887 by the Sultan of Tadjourah, Hamed-ben-Mohamed, to “perpetuate the happy moment when he and his people placed themselves under the protection of glorious France”. The Order became a French Colonial Order by the decrees of 10 and 23 May 1896 and on 5 December 1899 the original red ribbon with two blue and white stripes to each side was replaced by the ribbon seen on this example. The Order became defunct on 3 December 1963. Tadjourah is a district of Djibouti on the Horn of Africa. The Order is rare in miniature.
|