Ethiopia. Distinguished Military Medal of Haile Selassie I with bronze palm bar, by Mappin & Webb Ltd. Housed its rare fitted presentation case also by Mappin & Webb of London.
Condition: light contact wear, Good Very Fine.
Bronze trilobe medal with wreath and ribbon ring suspension; the face with a traditional Ethiopian portrait of Emperor Haile Selassie I wearing the Ethiopian Crown and circumscribed with the Amharic inscription in Ge’ez ‘Haile Selassie the First’; the reverse with crossed batons supporting a Trinity star circumscribed with an Amharic inscription in Ge’ez; slight wear and age discoloration; on original ribbon mounted for wear with a clip with maker’s mark ‘MAPPIN & WEBB LD’, the pin replaced, with bronze palm bar denoting a second of the medal. The medal was created to reward those engaged in military action against the invading and occupying Italian forces in the years 1935 to 1941 and was awarded both for acts of bravery in the face of the enemy and for long and distinguished service. The award of the medal four times is a great rarity, emulating that of Emperor Haile Selassie himself.
