Naval General Service Medal

(Mule Miniature, with Syria Clasp)

海軍一般服務獎章

(錯配迷你版,附敘利亞銘牌)

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Item number: M342

Year: AD 1849

Material: Silver

Size: 60.0 x 17.1 x 2.1 mm

Weight: 8.0 g

Provenance: Noonans 2024

This is a Naval General Service Medal, established by the British government in AD 1849 to honour officers and crew of the Royal Navy who served between AD 1793 and AD 1840. The medal was awarded with specific clasps, which indicated the ship, engagement, or campaign in which the recipient participated. In total, there are 232 distinct clasps.

The Naval General Service Medal miniature version features the commonly used early portrait of Queen Victoria, showing her youthful left-profile bust. Surrounding the bust are the words “VICTORIA REGINA” (Queen Victoria), reflecting the style of medals from the early years of her reign. Notably, this miniature omits the “1848” year mark found on official versions, likely due to the jeweller or craftsman’s reuse of a different mould or oversight during production. The museum also holds another medal in its collection, a “China War Medal” crafted using the obverse mould of the “Naval General Service Medal,” which is likely the work of the same artisan.

The reverse depicts Britannia, the personification of Britain, seated sideways on a hippocampus (a mythical sea creature with a horse’s forequarters and a fish-like tail). Britannia is portrayed holding a trident in her left hand, symbolising maritime power, and a laurel branch in her right hand.

This miniature Naval General Service Medal is equipped with a swivel straight bar suspension with shoulders that attaches to its ribbon. While the official ribbon for this medal features a white base with dark blue stripes, the ribbon on this miniature adopts the lemon-yellow base with pale blue stripes design from the Baltic Medal.

The ribbon is adorned with a “SYRIA” clasp, indicating the recipient’s participation in the AD 1840 military operations to aid the Ottoman Empire in suppressing the rebellion of Muhammad Ali Pasha, the Governor of Egypt. This specific action culminated in November AD 1840 and was pivotal in reasserting Ottoman control in the region with British naval support.

At the top of the ribbon, a rectangular plaque bears the phrase “THE HARD PORT SEA” on its reverse. This nautical term, translating to “hard to port” or a command to turn the ship’s rudder fully to the left.

Between AD 1839 and AD 1841, following the Napoleonic Wars, Muhammad Ali Pasha, who had seized control of Egypt, engaged in the Second Turco-Egyptian War with the Ottoman Empire over the control of Syria. In this conflict, Britain chose to support the Ottoman Empire. On November 3, AD 1840, the British Royal Navy bombarded the Egyptian forces occupying the city of Acre, forcing Muhammad Ali to enter negotiations. Ultimately, Egypt agreed to withdraw from Syria and return the captured Ottoman fleet, in exchange for the Ottoman Empire recognising the hereditary rule of Muhammad Ali’s descendants over Egypt.

物件編號: M342

年代: 公元 1849

材質:

尺寸: 60.0 x 17.1 x 2.1 mm

重量: 8.0 g

來源: 諾南斯 2024

這是一枚公元1849年,英國政府設立的「海軍一般服務獎章」旨在獎勵在公元1793至1840年間,於皇家海軍服役的官兵。按照官兵們的服役紀錄、船隻和參與戰役的差異,海軍一般服務獎章總計有232種銘牌。

獎章正面為維多利亞統治前期,英國獎章最為普遍的維多利亞女王少女時期的左側胸像,人像左右兩側鐫刻「VICTORIA REGINA」(維多利亞女王) 銘文。此外製作這枚迷你版獎章的工匠,出於偷懶或使用其他模具忽略官方版的「1848」年份字樣。本館尚有收藏另一枚使用「海軍一般服務獎章」正面模具的「中國戰爭獎章」,應該為同一個工匠製造。

獎章背面是斜坐在海馬身上的不列顛女神像,女神的左手扶著三叉戟,右手則握著一枝月桂枝條。

獎章頂端以帶肩旋轉直桿懸掛銜接綬帶,官方版的綬帶配色為白底深藍色條,然而這件迷你版是使用「波羅的海獎章」的檸檬黃底淺藍色條配色。綬帶上面還帶有「SYRIA」(敘利亞) 字樣的銘條,代表得獎者曾參加公元1840年11月,協助鄂圖曼土耳其鎮壓反叛的埃及總督穆罕默德·阿里帕夏的軍事行動。綬帶頂端的方形銘匾背面,打印英文航海術語「THE HARD PORT SEA」(左滿舵) 字樣。

公元1939至1941年間,拿破崙戰爭之後奪得埃及實權的穆罕默德·阿里帕夏和宗祖國鄂圖曼土耳其爆發圍繞著敘利亞地區的「第二次土埃戰爭」,英國在此次衝突中選擇支援鄂圖曼土耳其。公元1840年11月3日,英國皇家艦隊炮擊占據阿卡城的埃及軍隊,迫使穆罕默德·阿里坐上談判桌。最終埃及同意撤出敘利亞和歸還擄獲的土耳其艦隊,以此換取鄂圖曼土耳其承認穆罕默德·阿里後代在埃及的合法統治。

類似/相同物件 請看:

英國 皇家格林威治博物館 Royal Museums Greenwich

https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-41695

英國 菲茨威廉博物館 The Fitzwilliam Museum

https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141462

更多相關訊息請參考:

John Hayward, Diana Birch and Richard Bishop, British Battles and Medals Seventh Edition (London: Spink, 2006)

Borna Barac, Reference Catalogue Orders, Medals and Decorations of the World – Part II (Zagreb: OBOL, 2010)

指文號角工作室主編,《號角:世界經典制服徽章藝術IX》(北京市:台海出版社,2018)

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