Chelengk

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Nelson, by Lemuel Francis Abbott, with his chelengk in his admiral's hat

A chelengk (Turkish: çelenk) is a decoration of the Ottoman empire. It was a turban ornament consisting of a central flower with leaves and buds, and thirteen upward-facing rays.

A chelengk was awarded to Horatio Nelson by Sultan Selim III in honor of the Battle of the Nile in 1798.

Çelenk is used in modern Turkish exclusively for circular decorations made from flowers and leaves, and they are usually arranged for ornaments.

In the Patrick O'Brian novels of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, as Aubrey, captain in the Royal Navy, battles Napoleonic forces he is at one point awarded a chelengk to wear on his naval hat. This adornment also had hidden clockwork, so that the diamond strands shimmered in the sun.

[edit] See also

Wreath

[edit] Sources

Adkins, Roy & Adkins, Lesley: The War for All Oceans: From Nelson at the Nile to Napoleon at Waterloo, Abacus, 2007, ISBN 978-0-349-11916-8, p. 38
The National Maritime Museum website, retrieved 12.9.2007