Lot 11342

Description

Silver-plated field with embossed crescent moons and monogram "AZ" fastened with pins underneath the crown of Skanderbeg. Silver bullion fringes. The back lined with black and white wool, the formerly gilt flap with raised manufacturer’s inscription "Unione Militare Roma".
Ahmet Zogu (1895 - 1961) was born in Burgayet Castle, residence of his father, the feudal landowner Xhemal Pascha Zogu, who during World War I managed to expand his influence with his supporters from the Mat region. He became Minister of the Interior in the government of Suleyman Bey Delvina that had been elected in 1920, and Albanian Prime Minister in December 1922. In spring 1924, a revolt forced him to flee, but he returned to Tirana in December with an army assembled in Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia, and in January 1925 was elected President of the newly established Republic of Albania. He survived numerous assassination attempts by hostile Albanian clans and in 1926/27, in order to strengthen the state, whose tax income was low, he called upon the Kingdom of Italy, which gained a major influence over Albania by the 1st and 2nd Tirana Pact. In 1928, he crowned himself king of a constitutional monarchy and claimed to be a successor of the Albanian national hero Skanderbeg. Despite the economic recovery triggered by Italian investments the King was highly controversial in his own country due to his oppressive politics and the dependence on Italy that increased primarily under Mussolini. When he refused to fulfil Italy’s demands in 1939, Italian troops invaded Albania and forced Zogu to flee to Greece. After years of exile in Great Britain and Egypt he died in Paris in 1961.
Spallina appartenuta al Re d'Albania Zogu ICondition: II + Questions about the lot?