SHINING GLORY: Sultan Abu Bakar was the first to wear the state crown to signify ownership of Johor
JOHOR BARU: AMONG the first items of the royal regalia commissioned by Abu Bakar was the state crown, a symbol of sovereignty to commensurate the recognition by the British of his status as Sultan and his ownership of the independent state of Johor.
The introduction of a crown was a radical move by Abu Bakar in transforming the Malay traditional tengkolok, a cloth headwear for ceremonial occasions.
The crown and title placed Sultan Abu Bakar at par with, if not higher than, the Malay rulers who at one time regarded him as lower stature due to their misconception of his ancestral roots.
One of the difficulties that confronted Abu Bakar was the resentment of other Malay rulers at what they perceived as the ousting of the true Johor dynasty by the upstart Temenggong whom they considered to be not of royal lineage.
History has proved that the Temenggong dynasty traces its bloodline to the royal court of the Malacca sultanate.
The Johor crown, although Oriental in design, is based on the English crown of King Edward. Being an ardent Muslim, Abu Bakar did away with the symbols of Christianity and replaced them with the crescent and star of the Islamic faith.
The crown is surmounted by a cluster of four crescents and stars joined together with the inscription "Allah" and "Muhammad" in Arabic and studded with 37 small rubies and 55 small emeralds, respectively.
The crown is made of gold, with silver mounts for the diamond and gold collets around individual coloured gemstones comprising six oblong cushion shape cabochon rubies (24 carats), 12 cushion shape blue sapphires (21 carats), and six oblong emeralds (15 carats).
The main body is encrusted with 2,713 pieces of old cut diamonds weighing 372.66 carats, while the crescent and stars have 38 old cut diamonds of various shapes with a total weight of 66.8 carats.
Abu Bakar also designed a diadem for his consort. There is no available record of the design of the diadem. Sultan Ibrahim in 1925 had the diadem redesigned in platinum with gold backs. The diadem is a fine example of early 20th century style and made up of delicate scrolls and filigree work.
A large quantity of gemstones of varying sizes make up the piece, including one cushion shape Burma ruby (1.4 carats), two round Burma rubies (1 carat each), four round sapphires (1.80 carats each), four octagonal emeralds (1.50 carats each), one round Edwardian cut diamond (5.0 carats), one round Edwardian cut diamond (3.0 carats), nine round Edwardian cut diamonds (13.45 carats), 14 round Edwardian cut diamonds (9.40 carats), and 1,508 pieces of round Edwardian cut diamonds (114 carats).
The crown and diadem are exhibited on only two occasions; first, during the coronation and second, during the lying-in-state of the deceased ruler or consort. They are secured in a bank vault at other times.
A pair of bracelets that was added to the crown jewels by Sultan Ibrahim in 1935 is worn by the consort at her coronation. Each bracelet has four cushion shape fine blue sapphires (70 carats), four oblong diamonds each weighing 5 carats, one oblong diamond (1.15 carats), three oblong diamonds (2.50 carats), seven brilliant cut diamonds each weighing 2.17 carats, 17 brilliant cut diamonds each weighing 1.64 carats, 753 brilliant cut diamonds (40.60 carats) and 190 baguette diamonds (40 carats).
Other fine jewellery worn on that occasion include a long, diamond necklace, a baguette yellow diamond ring, and a pair of three-tiered diamond ear rings. A diamond tiara is worn during official state dinners.
Other ceremonial wear for the ruler includes a black velvet songkok adorned with an aigrette of diamond pendants, a set of buttons, a pair of epaulettes and gorgets all set predominantly in old rose cut diamonds in silver mounts.
Each of the six buttons is encrusted with 28 diamonds weighing 3 carats. Each epaulette is mounted with 676 small diamonds totaling 40 carats, and seven oval diamonds weighing 5 carats. Each gorget has 320 small diamonds weighing 28 carats.
The crown jewels were made by London royal jeweller J.V. Benson. They were paid for by Abu Bakar and Ibrahim from their private coffers, but later presented to the state and are now classified as Sultanate property for the use and enjoyment of the ruling sovereign and his family.
They cannot be disposed of in any manner unless authorised by the government after invoking the relevant enactments in the state legislature.
Abu Bakar and later Sultans of Johor as Colonel Commandant of the Johor Military Forces don military-like tunics for their coronations and birthday anniversary ceremonies. A sword complements the attire.
The first state sword was awarded by Queen Victoria to Temenggong Ibrahim in 1846 for annihilating piracy in Singapore and Riau waters. Abu Bakar was presented a sword of honour by the British in 1873 for his assistance in the Perak/Selangor conflict. The sword presented by Sultan Abdul Hamid of Turkey was a scimitar.
The present handsome bejewelled sword-of-state was a gift to Sultan Sir Ibrahim from the Johor government in 1935 to mark the 40th year of his reign.
The sword made by J.V Benson has a hilt of ivory with an exquisite gold floral design incorporating replicas of the crown and the Sultan's monogram "SI".
The scabbard with its matching ornate floral design embodies the crescent and nine-pointed star, replicas of the Johor coat-of-arms, Family Order and the Order of the Crown, all set in flawless diamonds. The blade is made of the finest sword steel and bears the inscription "Alwathik Billah Al Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Sultan Abu Bakar Johor 1313" on the obverse and "His Highness Sultan Ibrahim Sultan of Johor (1895)" on the reverse.
The State Sword along with the State Crown is placed on the royal coffin during the lying-in-state of the deceased ruler.
Dato' Abdul Rahim Ramli is secretary of the Council of the Royal Court.
The introduction of a crown was a radical move by Abu Bakar in transforming the Malay traditional tengkolok, a cloth headwear for ceremonial occasions.
The crown and title placed Sultan Abu Bakar at par with, if not higher than, the Malay rulers who at one time regarded him as lower stature due to their misconception of his ancestral roots.
One of the difficulties that confronted Abu Bakar was the resentment of other Malay rulers at what they perceived as the ousting of the true Johor dynasty by the upstart Temenggong whom they considered to be not of royal lineage.
History has proved that the Temenggong dynasty traces its bloodline to the royal court of the Malacca sultanate.
The Johor crown, although Oriental in design, is based on the English crown of King Edward. Being an ardent Muslim, Abu Bakar did away with the symbols of Christianity and replaced them with the crescent and star of the Islamic faith.
The crown is surmounted by a cluster of four crescents and stars joined together with the inscription "Allah" and "Muhammad" in Arabic and studded with 37 small rubies and 55 small emeralds, respectively.
The crown is made of gold, with silver mounts for the diamond and gold collets around individual coloured gemstones comprising six oblong cushion shape cabochon rubies (24 carats), 12 cushion shape blue sapphires (21 carats), and six oblong emeralds (15 carats).
The main body is encrusted with 2,713 pieces of old cut diamonds weighing 372.66 carats, while the crescent and stars have 38 old cut diamonds of various shapes with a total weight of 66.8 carats.
Abu Bakar also designed a diadem for his consort. There is no available record of the design of the diadem. Sultan Ibrahim in 1925 had the diadem redesigned in platinum with gold backs. The diadem is a fine example of early 20th century style and made up of delicate scrolls and filigree work.
A large quantity of gemstones of varying sizes make up the piece, including one cushion shape Burma ruby (1.4 carats), two round Burma rubies (1 carat each), four round sapphires (1.80 carats each), four octagonal emeralds (1.50 carats each), one round Edwardian cut diamond (5.0 carats), one round Edwardian cut diamond (3.0 carats), nine round Edwardian cut diamonds (13.45 carats), 14 round Edwardian cut diamonds (9.40 carats), and 1,508 pieces of round Edwardian cut diamonds (114 carats).
The crown and diadem are exhibited on only two occasions; first, during the coronation and second, during the lying-in-state of the deceased ruler or consort. They are secured in a bank vault at other times.
A pair of bracelets that was added to the crown jewels by Sultan Ibrahim in 1935 is worn by the consort at her coronation. Each bracelet has four cushion shape fine blue sapphires (70 carats), four oblong diamonds each weighing 5 carats, one oblong diamond (1.15 carats), three oblong diamonds (2.50 carats), seven brilliant cut diamonds each weighing 2.17 carats, 17 brilliant cut diamonds each weighing 1.64 carats, 753 brilliant cut diamonds (40.60 carats) and 190 baguette diamonds (40 carats).
Other fine jewellery worn on that occasion include a long, diamond necklace, a baguette yellow diamond ring, and a pair of three-tiered diamond ear rings. A diamond tiara is worn during official state dinners.
Other ceremonial wear for the ruler includes a black velvet songkok adorned with an aigrette of diamond pendants, a set of buttons, a pair of epaulettes and gorgets all set predominantly in old rose cut diamonds in silver mounts.
Each of the six buttons is encrusted with 28 diamonds weighing 3 carats. Each epaulette is mounted with 676 small diamonds totaling 40 carats, and seven oval diamonds weighing 5 carats. Each gorget has 320 small diamonds weighing 28 carats.
The crown jewels were made by London royal jeweller J.V. Benson. They were paid for by Abu Bakar and Ibrahim from their private coffers, but later presented to the state and are now classified as Sultanate property for the use and enjoyment of the ruling sovereign and his family.
They cannot be disposed of in any manner unless authorised by the government after invoking the relevant enactments in the state legislature.
Abu Bakar and later Sultans of Johor as Colonel Commandant of the Johor Military Forces don military-like tunics for their coronations and birthday anniversary ceremonies. A sword complements the attire.
The first state sword was awarded by Queen Victoria to Temenggong Ibrahim in 1846 for annihilating piracy in Singapore and Riau waters. Abu Bakar was presented a sword of honour by the British in 1873 for his assistance in the Perak/Selangor conflict. The sword presented by Sultan Abdul Hamid of Turkey was a scimitar.
The present handsome bejewelled sword-of-state was a gift to Sultan Sir Ibrahim from the Johor government in 1935 to mark the 40th year of his reign.
The sword made by J.V Benson has a hilt of ivory with an exquisite gold floral design incorporating replicas of the crown and the Sultan's monogram "SI".
The scabbard with its matching ornate floral design embodies the crescent and nine-pointed star, replicas of the Johor coat-of-arms, Family Order and the Order of the Crown, all set in flawless diamonds. The blade is made of the finest sword steel and bears the inscription "Alwathik Billah Al Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Sultan Abu Bakar Johor 1313" on the obverse and "His Highness Sultan Ibrahim Sultan of Johor (1895)" on the reverse.
The State Sword along with the State Crown is placed on the royal coffin during the lying-in-state of the deceased ruler.
Dato' Abdul Rahim Ramli is secretary of the Council of the Royal Court.
