181 WW1 ERA VIETNAM IMPERIAL ORDER OF THE DRAGON OF ANNAM KNIGHT GRADE MEDAL RARE

51mm high eight-pointed silver gilt star, each point comprising six faceted chiselled rays, on imperial crown and superb silver gilt and red and green enamel dragon suspension; the face with an imposed oval pale blue medallion inscribed in gilt characters ‘DONG-KHANH HOANG-DE’ within a red enamel ring; the reverse plain; on original ribbon for a civil award.

The Order was founded on 14 March 1886 at the Imperial city of Hue by Emperor Dong-Khanh of Vietnam to be awarded for outstanding service, both military and civil. It was a French colonial order from 1896 to 1950 and was awarded to French citizens who served in Vietnam with distinction for a minimum of ten years. The order was suppressed in 1950. An excellent example, most likely dating from the early 1900's