Order of the Turkish Crescent

Mavi Boncuk |

Order of the Turkish Crescent

Frequently referred to simply as the Order of the Crescent, this order was created in 1799 by Sultan Selim III to honor Admiral Lord Nelson for defeating the French fleet off Egypt. Some sources say that second and third classes were added after 1800, when a few British officers were awarded this order for the Nile Expedition, but it seems likely that it was only a one-class order. The additional classes referred to were probably gold classes of the Egypt Medal of 1801, leading to some confusion. The order itself was discontinued after no more than three awards. These presumably went to Nelson, the British Prime Minister (according to one source), and General Sir Hugh Baird, KCB.

Badge: Sources are contradictory on this topic, but if we discount the Egypt Medals which are often confused with the Order of the Crescent, the badge is apparently an oval shaped pinback brooch with diamond set rays surrounding a central medallion of red enamel bearing a raised gold crescent and star set with diamonds in the center. Contemporary portraits of Lord Nelson show a jewel of this type worn on his left breast, and Lord Nelson's coat - currently in a museum in England - bears an embroidered star of this design. General Sir Hugh Baird, KCB recieved a similar Order of the Crescent badge, consists of a large gold and silver medallion with a faceted glass cabochon rather than an enameled center. This may have been a later modification. If all of this sounds rather vague, it's because orders had not yet become standard practice in the Ottoman empire.

More commonly, people were rewarded with cash stipends and "Chelenks" - diamond studded jewels of no fixed design. One of these Chelenks was in fact awarded to Nelson, along with a fur coat and 1000 gold coins. The diamond-studded Chelenk given to Nelson was stolen from the British Maritime Museum in 1951 and has never been recovered.
Ribbon: The sash may have been either a pale yellow/cream color, or crimson red. In all probability, however, the original awards had no ribbon or sash, but were pinned directly to the coat.