Description
Imperial Order of the Lion and the Sun, civil division (Nishan-i-Shir u Khurshid, nishan-i-hormat), IV class
Four-pointed faceted rayed silver star, two rays are missing from this very old order, the face with a circular central medallion bearing a polychrome recumbent lion(Civil), a radiant sun with a male face beyond,the reverse is plain, complete with green original ribbon.
The Order was founded in 1808 by Fath ‘Ali Shah of the Qajar Dynasty as the Royal Order of the Sun. In 1820 it was reorganised and renamed. In 1925, the Qajar Dynasty was replaced by the Pahlavis but the Order continued as the Order of Homayoun with redesigned insignia. The Lion and Sun motif comes from antiquity and was used for centuries by Mogul and Qajar rulers, including Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, being formally adopted by Persia (Iran) under Mohammad Shah (reigned 1834 to 1848). This example is of Civil Division (nishan-i-hormat) since the lion is recumbent (for military awards, the lion is standing and holding a sabre).
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