CAMBODIA - SISOWATH I April 24, 1904 - August 9, 1927 - Lot 391

CAMBODIA - SISOWATH I April 24, 1904 - August 9, 1927 Nude bust of Sisowath on the left. R/. CORONATION OF S.M. SISOWATH I KING OF CAMBODIA. Cambodian coat of arms. Underneath 1906. Smooth edge with maker's hallmarks and OR. ♦ Lecompte 130 Coronation gold medal by P. Lenoir 1906 Paris (9.92 g). Rare. Dull blank. Superb. Exemplary Collection of Dr. J.-P. G. (April 1975) n°330 Sisowath was born on September 7, 1840 in Oudong and died on August 9, 1927 in Phnom Penh. He was the son of King Ang Duong and half-brother of King Norodom I. He spent part of his youth in Bangkok. During the quarrels between his brothers (1860-1865), he sided with the wrong side and remained in exile in Bangkok. In 1865, he placed himself under the protection of France, which put pressure on his half-brother to return to Cambodia. In 1885-1886, when riots broke out again, Sisowath personally took part in the repression, which only served to increase his credibility with the French. The French regularly threatened to depose Norodom I in favor of his more conciliatory half-brother. So when the king died on April 25, 1904, the French put pressure on Sisowath to take the throne as a matter of course. Sisowath had twenty wives, who bore him sixteen sons and nine daughters, creating the Sisowath royal family, including his successor, Sisowath Monivong.