An award presented by Negus Negesti Haile Selassie
In 1930, Haile Selassie founded the Ethiopian Air Force. He was assisted by three French pilots. One of them received an order and two portable medals, which will be sold at Gadoury on 4 October 2025.
What can be seen on Haile Selassie’s award?
It is a medal in the shape of a pentagram, the lower two ends of which are joined to form a surface, giving the medal a vague human shape. The pentagram is a reference to the seal of King Solomon, who, together with the Queen of Sheba, is said to have founded the Ethiopian imperial dynasty. Haile Selassie called himself the 225th descendant of King Solomon.
The pentagram hangs from a hook whose shape is vaguely reminiscent of the crown of the emperors of Ethiopia. The order’s ribbon is in the colours of Ethiopia: green, yellow-orange and red. The Rastafarians attach ritual significance to these three colours. Red stands for the blood shed during the slave trade, yellow or gold for the wealth stolen from the enslaved. Green is reminiscent of Africa, where the homeland awaits those who were deported.
What can be seen on Haile Selassie’s award?
It is a medal in the shape of a pentagram, the lower two ends of which are joined to form a surface, giving the medal a vague human shape. The pentagram is a reference to the seal of King Solomon, who, together with the Queen of Sheba, is said to have founded the Ethiopian imperial dynasty. Haile Selassie called himself the 225th descendant of King Solomon.
The pentagram hangs from a hook whose shape is vaguely reminiscent of the crown of the emperors of Ethiopia. The order’s ribbon is in the colours of Ethiopia: green, yellow-orange and red. The Rastafarians attach ritual significance to these three colours. Red stands for the blood shed during the slave trade, yellow or gold for the wealth stolen from the enslaved. Green is reminiscent of Africa, where the homeland awaits those who were deported.
Why is the award for pilot Fernand Picaper so remarkable?
In 1928, the young Haile Selassie ascended the Ethiopian throne. He thus ruled the only nation that had escaped colonisation.
Nevertheless, his country was surrounded by hostile colonial powers. In order to counter them, Haile Selassie began to modernise his country. This included modernising the army. He therefore travelled to France in 1930 to buy aeroplanes. He also had to find pilots, as none of his compatriots knew how to fly the new machines. Mechanic Fernand Picaper was one of them. He not only flew various aircraft, but also ensured that they remained
operational. The French were also tasked with training Ethiopian pilots to build up the Ethiopian Air Force. As this proved difficult, the Ethiopians selected for this task went to France after a trial period. The thirteen aircraft imported from Germany, France and Italy were mainly used for representation purposes in the early stages. They carried mail, but also foreign politicians and journalists, who were more easily persuaded to travel to Addis Ababa thanks to the somewhat more comfortable journey. However, the five years until Italy’s invasion were not enough to build up an effective air force. All Ethiopian aircraft were destroyed on the ground by Italian bombers.
What is a medal awarded by Haile Selassie worth?
On 4 October 2025, the Gadoury auction house in Monaco will auction this medal together with two other portable medals. The ensemble is so rare that it is impossible to put a specific price on it. Fred Patrone has therefore set the starting price for the entire lot at just 3,000 euros.
It remains to be seen how much collectors are willing to pay for the pieces.
The Gadoury Noir auction on 4 October 2025 can be viewed at Sixbid.
Click here to go to the auction.
Click here to view the lot we have presented.
We have taken our information from an article on the website of the French Embassy in Ethiopia. There you will find further information on this interesting topic.
Text & image : Ursula Kampmann
