Item number: M337

Year: AD 1879-1900

Material: Gold

Size: 61.8 x 15.7 x 3.0 mm

Weight: 2.1 g

Provenance: Antiques of Warwick 2024

This is a miniature 19th-century Knight Commander’s grade of the “Order of the Star of Ethiopia.” The medal features an eight-pointed star with a prominent central round bead. At the top, three shields are aligned side by side to form the suspension, connecting the medal to a ring and ribbon. The ribbon is coloured in red, yellow, and green, symbolising Ethiopia.

In AD 1879, the then-King of the semi-autonomous Kingdom of Shewa, Sahle Maryam (who would later become Emperor of Ethiopia), established the Order of the Star of Ethiopia. Divided into five classes, this is Ethiopia’s oldest order of merit in recorded history.

After founding the Order, Sahle Maryam secured the Ethiopian throne in AD 1889, ascending as Emperor Menelik II. Under his rule, Ethiopia famously defeated an Italian invasion in AD 1896, becoming one of only two independent African nations at the time and embarking on a path toward modernisation. The Order of the Star of Ethiopia retained its status as a national order until the monarchy was overthrown by a military government in AD 1974. Today, it is awarded solely by the Ethiopian royal family in exile, administered by the “Crown Council of Ethiopia.”

物件編號: M337

年代: 公元 1879-1900 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 61.8 x 15.7 x 3.0 mm

重量: 2.1 g

來源: 沃里克古董 2024

這是製作於公元19世紀的迷你版騎士指揮官級「衣索比亞之星勳章」，勳章形制為一個八芒星，正中央鑲有一枚大圓珠。勳章頂端是三個盾牌並排的造型懸掛，以此銜接圓環和綬帶，綬帶配色為象徵衣索比亞的紅黃綠。

公元1879年，彼時由尚未成為衣索比亞皇帝，僅是半獨立的紹阿王國國王薩勒·馬里亞姆創立「衣索比亞之星勳章」共分為五個等級，是衣索比亞歷史最為悠久的勳章。

薩勒·馬里亞姆創立該勳章後，於公元1889年成功打敗其他競爭者，以孟尼利克二世頭銜登基為衣索比亞皇帝。在孟尼利克二世統治下，衣索比亞成功在公元1896年擊敗義大利入侵，使衣索比亞成為非洲當時唯二的獨立國家，並帶領國家走向現代化。衣索比亞之星勳章作為國家勳章的地位持續到公元1974年王室遭到軍政府推翻為止。至今衣索比亞之星勳章僅作為流亡王室的獎勵，由「衣索比亞皇冠委員會」負責頒發。