359 - JAPAN - ORDER OF THE SACRED TREASURY - PRESUMED 2ND CLASS (GRAND OFFICER) SET OF DA'UD EFFENDI MOLKO, FIRST "DRAGOMAN" TRANSLATOR OF THE IMPERIAL DIVAN, comprising:

JAPAN - ORDER OF THE SACRED TREASURY - PRESUMED 2ND CLASS (GRAND OFFICER) SET OF DA'UD EFFENDI MOLKO, FIRST "DRAGOMAN" TRANSLATOR OF THE IMPERIAL DIVAN, comprising: - Commander’s medal in vermeil, silver, and enamel (one red circle is missing). Plain reverse side decorated with ideograms. Slightly bent mount. The center consists of several parts. 57 mm. Gross weight: 28.2 g. -A Commander’s tie, unmounted; one clasp is missing. -A Grand Cross sash in moiré with a round, pleated bow. -A vermeil, silver, and enamel plaque (small chip on one branch with hair). Reverse decorated with ideograms, featuring a toggle clasp and two hooks. 75 mm. Gross weight: 67 g Very good condition. Provenance: Da’ud Effendi Molko, then passed down through the family 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 while he was still a child, and he attended elementary school at the Camondo Institute. He entered the service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the age of 18 and rose to the position of chief translator during the reign of Sultan Abd al-Aziz, a post he retained 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 is also a Commander of the Legion of Honor, a recipient of the Order of the Prussian Crown, and a Grand Cross of the Polar Star. Biography from “Univers israélite,” January 15, 1897. Expert: Arnaud de Gouvion Saint-Cyr