The Order of the Indian Empire

The friend who recently sent me the link to the article about the late Maharaja of Dhrangadra-Halvad which I posted in A True Son of the Raj has now found a fine photograph of the insignia of a GCIE (the Maharaja was a KCIE, and so not entitled to the  collar of the Order, and his star would not have had the gold rays visible here).

As my fellow enthusiast for these things points out it is a spectacular design, with elephants, peacocks and lotus flowers linked to the crowns. The Order, the second ranking of those of the Indian Empire, was founded at the end of 1877 when Queen Victoria had formally received the title Empress of India.

The Collar and Star of a Knight Grand Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire

There is more about the history and membership of the Order in the online article Order of the Indian Empire and there is an illustrated blog post about the Order from the Thoughts of a Depressive Diplomatist which can be viewed here.