Badge of the Order, 130x82 mm, chiselled and pierced twelve-pointed star with thin, gilt borders, alternated by triangular beams, each ending with a five-pointed star, also with thin, gold borders, centre medallion with the crowned lion passant-guardant, holding a scimitar, before a pale-blue sky with the rising sun, this in the finest enamel-miniature, the outer circlet made of a triple ring of diamond-cut silver and three intermediate, gold fillets, circular upper loop, the suspension, made as a tall, Persian Imperial crown in diamond-cut silver and engraved gold fillets, surmounted by four engraved plumes, this, fixed to the badge with a gold hook, Gold suspension loop with a piece of ancient, pale blue silk ribbon, the badge’s reverse, with maker’s escutcheon of Kretly, Paris. An exceptionally rare order of imposing beauty being the highest award from the Emperor, immediately after the “Imperial Portrait”, being the first of three new classes of the Order of the Sun and the Lion, instituted in 1861 by Emperor Nasr-al-Din Shah Qadjar (1848-1896).This class was reserved to the sovereign himself and to foreign heads of state when enriched with stones and that like the hereby offerded piece, to the Grand-Visir, foreign Princes and Prime Ministers, the other, lower two classes were Nishan-i-Qods (Highly Sacred Order), whose suspension was surmounted by one plume and the Nishan-i-Moqaddas (Sacred Order), without plumes on top of the crown. It appears that after the death of Nasr-al-Din Shah Qadjar, these three classes were discontinued. Extremely fine condition. I RR!