A group of garlands and regalia presented to Lord Headley India, circa 1928(11)A group of garlands and regalia presented to Lord Headley India, circa 1928comprising two metal thread-embroidered garlands, the first with inscriptions in nasta'liq and naskh, the second reading 'RIGHT HON'BLE AL HAJ LORD HEADLEY AL FAROOQ, S. SHUJAUL RAHMAN BHOLA, PROP. K.B. MOHAMED SAID & COMPANY; a metal thread-embroidered badge; two uninscribed metal thread-embroidered garlands; a metal thread-embroidered velvet garland; five further garlands the larger inscribed pendant 22 x 18 cm.(11)ProvenanceRowland George Allanson Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley (1855-1935), also known as Shaikh Rahmatullah al-Farooq, and thence by descent.Inscriptions: to the garland, sadr-e ol-e indiya tabligh conferece dehli inna al-din 'inda allah al-islam al-hajj lard hidley al-faruq, 'The President of All India Tabligh Conference, 'The Religion before God is Islam' (Qur'an, chapter III (al-'imran, part of verse 19), al-Hajj Lord Headley al-Faruq'; to the badge, the same text in tughra form with the word sadr and the name above and below the tughra, the number '786' above.Lord Headley went on a tour of India and Sri Lanka in 1927-28 to raise funds for a mosque in London. These garlands were presumably presented to him during this trip. A photograph taken at Torkham in Khyber on the 11th of January 1928 depicts him wearing a similar garland (see Jamie Gilham, The British Muslim Convert, Lord Headley, 1855-1935, London, 2020, p. 168, fig. 12).The following collection of items is offered by the family of Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley (1855-1935), who became an international celebrity in 1913 when he defied convention by publicly converting to Islam and, in so doing, became the public face of Islam in Britain. The collection includes personal items such as a fragment of Kiswah (lot 81), a robe (lot 79) and the exceptionally rare Order of Al Nahda medal (lot 82) which were presented to him in Mecca by Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz (reg. 1916-1924), on completion of his Hajj in 1923. Also included is a set of prayer beads, and silver zamzam bottles (lot 80) which are believed to have been carried with him on the pilgrimage. Born in London in 1855, he was educated at Westminster School and Cambridge University before entering the Middle Temple and continuing his studies at King's College London. He subsequently became a civil engineer, and worked in India between 1892 and 1897. It was during his four years in Kashmir that he first encountered the Islamic faith, but it was not until 1913, the same year in which he inherited the peerage from his cousin, that he officially converted to Islam, adopting the Muslim name of Shaikh Rahmatullah al-Farooq. In 1914 he founded the British Muslim Society, which had the principal aim of demonstrating that Islam was not antagonistic or hostile to Christianity. He remained president of the society for life and went on to write several books on Islam, including A Western Awakening to Islam and Three Great Prophets of the World. He intended to undertake the Hajj the same year, but was prevented from doing so by the outbreak of war, and had to wait until 1923 when he completed the pilgrimage at the age of 68. Very few Britons had made a pilgrimage to Mecca before Lord Headley, and it is possible that he was the first to do so legitimately. Despite the potential political implications of the situation, he was welcomed as a guest by King Hussein, who accompanied him on some stages of the pilgrimage and who is reported to have slept on the ground at Muzdalifah so that Headley might have a more comfortable rest on his own camp-bed. On his return to London, Headley gave numerous talks about his experience in Mecca including at the British Muslim Society, and became the subject of much press attention for the first time since his conversion in 1913. An image taken by a press photographer at his home in St Margarets (Fig. 1), depicts him wearing the robe and Order of Al Nadha while standing beside the larger fragment of Kiswah with which he was presented in Mecca, which he subsequently donated to Woking Mosque. This image was circulated and reprinted in newspapers and magazines worldwide. After completing the Hajj his profile and status within the British Muslim community increased, and he became an unofficial ambassador for British Islam. In 1925, he was offered the throne of Albania by a Muslim delegation who desired a British aristocrat for their ruler, but Lord Headley declined the offer on the grounds that has assassination was practically certain should he accept. Beyond his devotion to Islam Lord Headley was a keen boxer, having been a champion at Cambridge University, and was also one of the earliest exponents of martial arts. In 1890 he co-authored Broad-sword and Singlestick, one of the earliest self defence manuals and went on to write one of the first modern guides to boxing (Boxing, 1889).A detailed account of the life of Lord Headley, the circumstances of his conversion to Islam and his attitude towards the Islamic faith is given in Jamie Gilham, The British Muslim Convert, Lord Headley, 1855-1935, London, 2020.