Star for Loyalty and Merit

The Star for Loyalty and Merit (Dutch: Ster voor Trouw en Verdienste) was a civilian award established on 1 January 1894 by Governor-General Carel Herman Aart van der Wijck of the Dutch East Indies.

The star replaced the old Medal for Civil Merit, which had limited prestige and status according to the Netherlands government.

The star was awarded in gold to "significant and meritorious" natives, and in silver to village chiefs and leaders of the "Eastern foreigner" (i.e. Chinese) communities.

Despite the "Great" and "Small" nomenclature, the five grades of the star were all equal in size, consisted of a badge in the form of a 12-pointed star with straight rays, suspended from a ribbon worn on the left chest: The ribbon was originally blue with an orange central stripe, the same as the "Brother" grade of the Order of the Netherlands Lion; for the Great and Small Gold Stars the ribbon had an additional narrow orange stripe on the edges.

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