Chelengk

Chelengk (pronounced kel-legge)

A headdress or turban ornament traditionally worn by Ottoman and the Mughal rulers in South Asia and Asia Minor.

Circa 1740: From the Ottoman Turkish چـلنك (Çelenk) (wreath or garland).

First awarded during the reign of Mahmud I (Mahmud the Hunchback, 1696–1754; Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1730-1754), the model for the Çelenk was the tradition of attaching a bird's feather to one’s turban as a symbol of bravery and by 1798 it had become a stylized decoration awarded for military merit (ranking above the Gallipoli Star and below the Order of Osmanieh in the Ottoman order of precedence) as late as the 1820s.  Çelenks were awarded as a gift to honor distinguished military commanders or other high-ranking officials and, worn usually on a turban or cap, were a noted symbol of honor and prestige in the Ottoman court.  Çelenks were crafted from gold or silver (the most illustrious of which were diamond-studded) and consisted of a central flower with leaves and buds, topped by upward-facing rays and although no longer part of military tradition, the motif remains popular in modern Türkiye where it’s rendered as a wreath or garland, a circular decoration made from flowers and leaves, usually for ornamental purposes.

Lemuel “Francis” Abbott’s (circa 1760–1803) classic portrait of Nelson (1799) with Chelengk pinned to hat; oil on canvas and completed after his victory in the Battle of the Nile.  Historians of art suspect Abbott painted his work despite having never seen the Chelengk because his depiction is far removed from the actual jewel. 

One of the most famous Chelengks was that awarded to the Royal Navy’s Admiral Lord Nelson (1758-1805) by Selim III (1761–1808; Sultan of the Ottoman Empire 1789-1807) after the Battle of the Nile in 1798, the thirteen diamond encrusted rays representing the French ships captured or destroyed during the engagement.  A clever aspect of the engineering was that the central diamond star was connected to a clockwork mechanism so it would rotate while being worn and it was a particular distinction, being the first Çelenk awarded to a non-Ottoman and the thirteen rays were a departure from the traditional seven.  The admiral wore the Chelengk on his naval hat in much the same manner as Ottoman officers adorned their turbans and he turned out to be a trend-setter, sparking a demand in England for similar jewels and they became one of the most fashionable accessories of the era.  Selim III also awarded a Çelenk  to Russian Admiral Fyodor Ushakov (1745-1817) after the capture of Corfu from the French in 1799.  After Nelson’s death in the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), the Chelengk passed to his family and was frequently seen at the royal court until it was sold at auction in 1895, purchased eventually by the Society for Nautical Research in 1929 and placed on display at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich where it was a star exhibit.  In 1951 the piece was by “an infamous cat-burglar” and has not since been seen.

Lindsay Lohan as she would appear if wearing the replica of Lord Nelson’s chelengk, Paris, March 2015 (digitally altered image).  The replica is said exactly to have duplicated the appearance of the original and features a central flower made of sixteen petals with leaves and buds.  The stalk of the flower is tied by a bow, extending from which are the thirteen rays.  The replica was made for the film Bequest to the Nation (1973) and was subsequently presented to the National Maritime Museum by the production house.