*Queen Victoria’s Decoration for Members of the Retinue of the Shah of Persia during his visit to England 1889, First Class breast badge, in gold, by Garrard & Co., in gold, apparently an unrecorded variety lacking the Queen’s Crown suspension, comprising crowned medallion of Queen Victoria, within a thirty-two rayed star, the upper ray carrying a triangular suspension ring, 50mm, lacking ribbon, in [slightly damaged] fitted case of issue, extremely fine and very rare. Provenance: Given to Dr Ernst. E. Herzfeld, Field Director of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago’s excavation of Persepolis 1932, while in Persia, offered with a copy of the National Geographic Magazine, October 1933, containing a detailed account of the expedition. Queen Victoria’s Decoration for the Members of the Retinue of the Shah of Persia (also called Queen Victoria’s Indian Attendant’s Decoration) was established for the Visit of Nasr-ed-Din to England in 1889, it came in two classes, the Second class is similar to the First class, but the rays of the badge are silver. The title ‘Indian Attendant’s Decoration’ arises due to the fact that Queen Victoria presented an example to the Munshi (Abdul Karim) in 1890 (see ‘Royal Service Vol. III’ where Queen Victoria mentions presenting him with a decoration of the Eastern Star, 27 Oct. 1890), and he is clearly seen wearing it in photos (interestingly at a lower level than his other awards). The award is certainly very rare and to date only a few examples have been offered at auction. The First Class specimen sold in the Villa Ispahan auction, Sotheby’s Monaco, June 1983 (lot 1426) was amongst the Orders and Decorations awarded to Prince Arfa (Mirza Riza Khan Arfa’-ed-Dowleh (1853-1937)), and was then described as an ‘Indian Attendant’s Medal’. However the Prince, prior to his elevation and before becoming Minister Plenipotentiary in St Petersburg, had accompanied Nasr ed-Din on his visit to England in 1889 as a middle-ranking official and it is now thought that decoration dates from this occasion. Prince Arfa’s ‘Memoirs of a Bygone Age’, published and edited by Michael Noel-Clarke in 2016, describes his piece as ‘the Victoria Medal / Decoration’. Queen Victoria herself largely avoided the Shah during his visit and most of the entertaining was conducted by the Prince of Wales who was opposed to giving the Shah, a non-Christian, the Order of the Garter. Persia was largely under the jurisdiction of the India Office in the 1880s and the decoration bears similarities to the two Indian Orders (the Star of India and the Indian Empire), so it is suggested that the India Office may have been involved with the issue of this Decoration also. Other known examples which have appeared in auction are the Richard Magor specimen, Dix, Noonan & Webb, July 2003 (First Class), DNW December 2012 (First Class), Kunker, 2013 (First Class) and Dix, Noonan & Webb, September 2015 (Second Class).

Estimate: GBP 2800 - 3200