The Order of Charity (Ottoman Turkish: نشانِ شفقت), sometimes referred to as the Order of the Chefakat,[1] was an order of the Ottoman Empire founded in 1878 by Sultan Abdul Hamid II.[2]
It was bestowed on selected women for distinguished humanitarian or charitable works, or as a token of the Sultan's esteem.[3] Recipients included non-Ottoman citizens, including the English painter Margaret Murray Cookesley for her portrait of the Sultan's son,[4] Hariot Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood (1883), wife of the Earl of Dufferin who was British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire,[5] and to American social reformer Ellen Martin Henrotin (1893).[6]
The badge consists of a five pointed star in gold and crimson enamel, with a central gold medallion bearing the Sultan's cypher, surrounded by a green enamelled band with the words "Humanity, Assistance, Patriotism" in Ottoman Turkish. The star rests upon a circular wreath enamelled green with crimson berries, the whole mounted on another star with radiant points. The decoration is hung from a star and crescent suspension, enamelled red. The order had three classes,[1] with the highest class mounted with diamonds and other precious stones.[2]
