Item number: M557-7

Reference number: Borna Barac#67

Year: AD 1856-1872

Material: Silver and Enamel

Provenance:

1. Leu Numismatik 2025

2. Reza Najafi Collection

This is a miniature of the Order of the Lion and the Sun, instituted in AD 1808 by Fatḥ-ʿAlī, the second Shah of the Qajar dynasty of Iran. Comprising five distinct classes, the order was initially conferred exclusively upon foreign royalty and diplomatic personnel before its bestowal was subsequently extended to domestic subjects. As the pre-eminent state order of Iran, the Order of the Lion and the Sun endured until AD 1939, when it was superseded under the Pahlavi dynasty by the Order of Homayoun (variously termed the “Order of Augustus”), whilst nevertheless preserving the core aesthetic design of its predecessor.

The badge takes the form of a five-pointed star composed of forty rays, of which the shortest are finished in green enamel whilst the remainder are rendered in silver. The surmounting suspension is modelled upon the Kiani Crown designed during the Qajar dynasty. At the centre of the obverse, an enamelled painted medallion portrays a couchant lion against the backdrop of a rising sun endowed with human facial features.

The Order of the Lion and the Sun was formally established in the Islamic calendar year 1223 (AD 1808). Scholarly consensus indicates that its institution was primarily inspired by the Order of the Crescent, previously founded by the Ottoman Sultan Selim III. By the reign of Moḥammad Shah (r. AD 1834–1848), the order was formally structured into eight grades corresponding to the military hierarchy, spanning from the supreme commander (equivalent to a four-star general, or amīr-e tūmān) down to junior non-commissioned officers, with each grade further subdivided into three classes.

During the reign of Nāṣer-al-Dīn Shah (r. AD 1848–1896), following the introduction of the rank of lieutenant general (mīr panj) into the army, the military division of the order was expanded to nine grades. A more decisive institutional evolution lay in the formal, codified distinction between military and civil iconography: on military insignia, the lion was depicted in a standing posture brandishing an unsheathed scimitar (shamshir) in one paw, whereas on civil insignia, the lion was portrayed in a couchant posture without a sword. Furthermore, to reward exceptionally elevated diplomatic figures and court dignitaries, Nāṣer-al-Dīn Shah instituted three special classes transcending the conventional hierarchy in the Islamic calendar year 1278 (AD 1861): the Aqdas (Most Sacred), the Qods (Holy), and the Moqaddas (Sacred).

In the Islamic calendar year 1289 (AD 1872), the Grand Vizier Mīrzā Ḥosayn Khan Sepahsālār championed constitutionalism and Westernised administrative reforms, which encompassed the honours system. Modelling the reorganisation on the French Légion d’honneur, the Order of the Lion and the Sun (nešān-e šīr o ḵoršīd-e ḵāreja) was thoroughly revised into five standard classes. The Moqaddas class previously bestowed upon civil officials and foreigners was abolished, with those eligible being reassigned to the first class of the five-tier system. Morphologically, the classes were denoted by the number of radiating rays on the star: an eight-pointed star for the first class, seven-pointed for the second, six-pointed for the third, five-pointed for the fourth, and four-pointed for the fifth. Concurrently, precise regulations governing ribands and sashes were established: the first class, aligned with the status of a three-star general, was allocated a broad green sash (ḥamāyel). In accordance with court protocol, sovereigns were reserved a light blue riband, the Grand Vizier and full generals wore an unadorned green riband, whilst foreign ministers plenipotentiary wearing the first class were appointed a dark blue riband or one with dark blue edging. The former eighth and ninth military grades were downgraded to ancillary medals.

During the late Qajar period, amidst an exhausted treasury and political instability, the court resorted to the profligate bestowal and even open sale of decorations to raise revenue, triggering severe honours inflation. Foreigners, particularly Tsarist Russian officers and civil servants, pursued the decoration with such avarice that the renowned Russian author Anton Chekhov penned the satirical short story The Lion and the Sun (Lev i Solntse) in AD 1889, scathingly lampooning the unscrupulous lengths to which provincial Russian officials would go to procure the Persian order. In AD 1925, following the overthrow of the Qajar dynasty and the establishment of the Pahlavi dynasty by Reza Shah, Iran comprehensively reformed the convoluted honours system of the former regime. The five-class Order of the Lion and the Sun, which had represented the civil division under the Qajars, was formally inherited and reconstituted under the name of the mythical Persian bird Homa (Homâ) as the Order of Homayoun (Homāyūn). By virtue of denoting imperial splendour and augustness, it was also rendered in Western diplomatic convention as the “August Order”. Retaining the original French five-tier structure, it endured as one of modern Iran’s highest national distinctions until its termination following the outbreak of the Islamic Revolution in AD 1979.

Fatḥ-ʿAlī Shah Qājār (AD 1769–1834, originally named Bābā Khan), or simply Fatḥ-ʿAlī, was the second Shah of the Iranian Qajar dynasty. Having endured tribal upheaval and captivity as a hostage during his youth, he was designated heir apparent and served as governor of provinces such as Fars, ascending the throne following the assassination of his uncle, Āghā Muḥammad Khān, in AD 1797. In the initial phase of his reign, he was obliged to confront the unresolved Georgian conflict inherited from his uncle, which precipitated war with the Russian Empire, whilst concurrently suppressing insurrections staged by tribal chieftains and his brother, Ḥosayn-Qolī Khān, to consolidate royal authority. Unable to withstand Russia’s modernised forces, Fatḥ-ʿAlī sought assistance from France, which was intent on safeguarding its Red Sea routes, and Great Britain, which was apprehensive regarding the security of India. The ensuing intensification of diplomatic intercourse led directly to the institution of the Westernised Order of the Lion and the Sun. Throughout his reign of more than thirty years, Fatḥ-ʿAlī Shah preserved centralised authority by assigning his numerous royal sons to provincial governorships, enthusiastically revitalised imperial Persian court ceremonial and luxury, and served as a major patron of literature and painting. In foreign policy, however, his rule was entangled in the imperial rivalries among Britain, France, and Russia; following defeats in two Russo-Persian Wars, he signed the Treaties of Gulistan and Turkmenchay, thereby ceding extensive Caucasian territories to the Russian Empire.

物件編號: M557-7

參考書目編號: Borna Barac#67

年代: 公元 1856-1872 年

材質: 銀、琺瑯

來源:

1. Leu Numismatik 2025

2. 雷扎·納加菲舊藏

這是一枚公元1808年，由伊朗卡扎爾王朝的第二任沙阿，法特赫-阿里創立的「獅子與太陽勳章」迷你版。這枚勳章總共有五個不同的等級，最初僅贈送給他國皇室或外交人員，後續則擴大頒發對象至本國人民。「獅子與太陽勳章」作為伊朗的國家勳章，直到公元1939年才為巴勒維王朝以「霍馬雲勳章」（有稱「奧古斯都勳章」）取代，不過在造型上仍承接舊有的設計。

章體呈五角星型，由四十道光芒組成，最短處的光芒為綠色琺瑯，其餘則為銀色。上方頂飾為卡扎爾王朝設計的基亞尼王冠。正面中央的圓蓋是彩繪的伏坐雄獅，雄獅背面則是冉冉升起的朝陽，具備五官。

獅子與太陽勳章於伊斯蘭曆1223年（公元1808年）正式設立。據考證其靈感主要源自鄂圖曼帝國蘇丹塞利姆三世此前創設的「新月勳章」（Order of the Crescent）。至穆罕默德沙（Moḥammad Shah，公元1834-1848年在位）統治時期，官方依據軍隊編制將勳章劃分為八個等級，從最高統帥（相當於四星將軍／amīr-e tūmān）層層對應至基層士官，且每個等級內又細分為三等。

在納賽爾丁沙（Nāṣer-al-Dīn Shah，公元1848-1896年在位）時期，隨著軍階體系增設中將階級（mīr panj），勳章的軍職等級擴增至九級。更關鍵的制度演變在於「武職」與「文職」圖像的正式制度化區分：武職勳章上的獅子呈站立姿態，單爪高舉出鞘彎刀（shamshir）；而文職徽章中的獅子則為俯臥（couchant）姿態且未持劍。此外，為酬庸極高級別的外交與宮廷顯要，納賽爾丁沙於伊斯蘭曆1278年（公元1861年）增設了三種凌駕於常規等級之上的特等勳章：阿克達斯（Aqdas，最神聖級）、庫德斯（Qods，聖潔級），與穆卡達斯（Moqaddas，神聖級）。

伊斯蘭曆1289年（公元1872年），大維齊爾米爾札·侯賽因汗·塞帕赫薩拉爾（Mīrzā Ḥosayn Khan Sepahsālār）主張憲政與行政西化改革，勳章制度也在改革之列。他參照法國「榮譽軍團勳章」（Légion d’honneur），獅子與太陽勳章（nešān-e šīr o ḵoršīd-e ḵāreja）全面改制為五個等級。並廢止原先授予文職與外國人的「穆卡達斯」等級，原資格者改授五級制中的「一等獅子與太陽勳章」；形制上則以星芒射線的數量標示等級：一等為八芒星、二等為七芒星、三等為六芒星、四等為五芒星、五等為四芒星；同時，也明確了綬帶佩戴規則：一等勳章比照三星將軍級別，配發綠色寬綬帶（ḥamāyel）。依據宮廷規定，君主專用綬帶為淺藍色，大維齊爾與上將配純綠色綬帶，外國公使佩戴一等勳章時則搭配深藍色或深藍飾邊綬帶。至於原軍用第八與第九級則降格視為附屬獎章。

卡扎爾王朝末期，由於國庫空虛與政局動盪，宮廷開始將勳章大量頒授甚至公開售賣以籌措財源，引發了嚴重的「勳章通膨」。外國人特別是沙俄軍官、官員對該勳章趨之若鶩，以致俄國著名作家契訶夫於公元1889年撰寫了諷刺短篇小說《獅子與太陽》（Лев и Солнце），極力揶揄俄國地方官員為謀求這枚波斯勳章而不擇手段的醜態。公元1925年，禮薩汗推翻卡扎爾王朝、建立巴列維王朝後，伊朗整頓了舊王朝龐雜的獎懲制度。原卡扎爾時期代表文職體系的五級「獅子與太陽勳章」被正式繼承並重組，以波斯神鳥霍馬（هما，Homâ）之名，改為「霍馬雲勳章」（Order of Homayoun / Homāyūn），由於其象徵帝國的崇高，也被譯為「奧古斯特勳章」，保留了原先法式五級制，繼續作為伊朗現代國家最高榮譽之一，直至公元1979年伊斯蘭革命爆發後終止。

法特赫-阿里沙·卡扎爾（Fatḥ-ʿAlī Shah Qājār，AD 1769-1834，原名巴巴汗／Bābā Khan），或稱為法特赫-阿里。他早年歷經部族動盪與人質生涯，獲確立為繼承人後曾任法爾斯等省總督，在叔父阿迦·穆罕默德汗於公元1797年遇刺後繼承為伊朗卡扎爾王朝的第二任沙阿。即位初期，他需要面對叔父未完成的喬治亞戰爭，並因此與俄國開戰，其次他需要平定部族酋長與胞弟侯賽因-庫里汗等多起叛亂以穩固王權。由於不敵俄羅斯的現代化軍隊，法特赫向關心紅海航線的法國以及擔心印度安全的英國求援，交流的頻繁促使了西化的獅子與太陽勳章設立。在其三十餘年的統治期間，法特赫-阿里沙透過任命眾多皇子出任各省總督來維繫中央控制，並熱衷於重塑波斯帝國傳統的宮廷奢華與禮儀，大力贊助文學、繪畫等文化藝術復興；但對外方面，其在位期深陷英、法、俄列強的角力，在歷經兩次俄波戰爭失利後簽署《古利斯坦條約》與《土庫曼恰伊條約》，被迫將高加索廣大疆土割讓予俄羅斯帝國。