Ethiopia. An Order Of Solomon's Seal, Grand Officer's Set, Type Ii With Ethiopian Crown

Footnote: The Order of Solomon's Seal is an order of knighthood of the Ethiopian Empire. Founded in 1874, it was the highest honour presented until the Order of Solomon, previously awarded has the highest class of the order with the special class of Collar, was made an independent order in 1930 by Emperor Haile Selassie. The Solomonic dynasty, the ancient Imperial House of Ethiopia, claims descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, said to have given birth to King Menelik I after her visit to Solomon in Jerusalem. It was frequently worn by Ethiopian sovereigns. Originally it was reserved for members of the Imperial Family, heads of foreign states, and to individuals who had rendered particularly meritorious service to the Throne. Among the foreign heads of state to receive the Order was King Paul of Greece, who was invested with it in 1959 during the visit of Emperor Haile Selassie to Greece. The Order was bestowed on princes of the dynasty and foreign princes. It was also always bestowed on the Abuna of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and very occasionally on international figures, including United States President Dwight Eisenhower and Earl Mountbatten of Burma. The Order was presented in its original form with a western-style crown, that is, the design instituted by its founder, King Yohannes IV,  to King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. The Order in its original form had also been bestowed upon Queen Victoria in 1897 for her Diamond Jubilee.