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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Sculpture, Room 111, The Gilbert Bayes Gallery

Inauguration of the Eastern Algerian Railway from Algiers to Constantinople

Medal
1886 (cast)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Here Roty uses the Art Nouveau style to celebrate an engineering achievement. On the obverse, personifications of Algiers and Constantinople embrace each other, flanked by views of the two cities. On the reverse there is an allegorical female figure, holding a cornucopia to symbolise Abundance. On the obverse, the legend in French gives the name of the railway, the dates of the laws under which it was constructed and the names of the officials and enginners. On the reverse, the legend in French, reads: 'Opening of the Algiers to Constantinople line, 3 November 1886'. This medal was purchased direct from the artist.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleInauguration of the Eastern Algerian Railway from Algiers to Constantinople (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Bronze, uniface
Brief description
Medal, bronze, by Louis Oscar Roty, France (Paris), 1886
Physical description
Reverse of Medal, cast bronze, commemorating the opening of the Eastern Algerian Railway from Algiers to Constantine; a nude female figure symbolizing Abundance with a cornucopiae is standing on a wheel amid clouds. The legends reads thus:- COMPAGNIE. DES. CHEMINS. DE. FER. DE. L'EST. ALGERIEN. LOIS DES. 15. DÉCEMBRE. 1875. 2. AÔVT. 1883. 21 MAI ET 21. JVILLET. 1884. 7. AÔVT 1885. CONSEIL D'ADMINSTRATION HENRI DVRRIEV PT LÉOPOLD LÉGER LE GENERAL LIEBERT BARON J DE REINACH LEON THELIER ALBERT CHABERT COMTE D'HAVSSONVILLE CONCESSIONNAIRES PRIMITIFS H. JORET H. DVRRIEV THELIER ET HENROTTE KNHN REINACH ET CIE. INGENIEVRS DE LA CONSTVCTION SCHERER GODARD BOUCHER- LEOMENIL. Signed 'O. Roty.' The obverse of this medal is No. 664-1894.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 3.9375in
Style
Object history
Bought with Nos. 659-1894 to 684-1894 for £159. 4s. 1d.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Here Roty uses the Art Nouveau style to celebrate an engineering achievement. On the obverse, personifications of Algiers and Constantinople embrace each other, flanked by views of the two cities. On the reverse there is an allegorical female figure, holding a cornucopia to symbolise Abundance. On the obverse, the legend in French gives the name of the railway, the dates of the laws under which it was constructed and the names of the officials and enginners. On the reverse, the legend in French, reads: 'Opening of the Algiers to Constantinople line, 3 November 1886'. This medal was purchased direct from the artist.
Bibliographic reference
List of Objects in the Art Division South Kensington Museum acquired during the Year 1894. Arranged according to the dates of acquisition, with appendix and indices. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1895. pp. 97
Collection
Accession number
665-1894

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Record createdMay 9, 2005
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