364 - OTTOMAN EMPIRE - ORDER OF CHARITY “Nishani Shefkat”

OTTOMAN EMPIRE - ORDER OF CHARITY “Nishani Shefkat” FIRST-CLASS SET FROM THE FAMILY OF DA'UD EFFENDI MOLKO, FIRST “DRAGOMAN” TRANSLATOR OF THE IMPERIAL DIVAN, comprising: -A 14K gold piece featuring a five-pointed star with knobs, surmounted by the crescent and star. Two-part center. Very slight surface chips. Plain reverse. 68 x 55 mm. Gross weight: 18.64 g As-is. -Fine sash with a bow. -Ribbon bow for wearing the jewelry -Plate featuring a five-pointed gold (14K) star with knurled points, enamelled red (chips on two points and missing sections on one point); the star’s points are interspersed with silver rays set with rose-cut diamonds. The rays are surmounted by a green-enameled laurel wreath, with fruits represented by small ruby fragments (fragments and small gaps). Reverse features a flip-pin clasp. Approximately 125 diamonds. Very Good to Very Good-Plus condition. Provenance: Da’ud Effendi Molko, then by descent 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, rose to the position of chief translator during the reign of Sultan Abd al-Aziz, and retained that 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 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