Medal, bronze, silvered and enamelled, commemorating the British Museum, by artist Felicity Powell, Britain, 2011

Silvered and enamelled circular bronze medal.

Given by The British Museum

This medal was commissioned by the British Museum to Felicity Powell, to offer as a present to 'distinguished visitors'. This particular specimen was presented by the British Museum to the V&A.

Both sides contain elements of the museum’s past, present and future.

The obverse shows a pair of open hands in the centre of the Great Court’s ceiling that covers the original library’s Reading room. The hands’ gesture symbolises both openness and accessibility. Cupped in the form of an open book, the hands also represent having knowledge at one’s fingertips. The surroundings of the Great Court’s glass roof evoke light and enlightenment. This architectural feature, both iconic and contemporary, expresses a sense of expansiveness, stretching across the museum and connecting its ten departments.
The outer blue ring bears the text ‘The British Museum 1753 A World of Understanding’ referring to the Museum’s mission. The blue and white enamel colours on silver are a nod to the sky that can be seen through the domed roof.

The international remit of the British Museum's collection is symbolised by the central motif of a head bearing a globe the reverse.
Radiating around the field are ten animals, each symbolising one of the British Museum’s ten departments, namely Coins and Medals (an owl), Conservation and Scientific Research (a snake), Portable Antiquities and Treasure (a mole), Ancient Egypt and Sudan (a sphinx), Prints and Drawings (a rhinoceros), Prehistory and Europe (a deer), Asia (a monkey), Africa, Oceania and the Americas (a leopard), Middle East (a lion) and Greece and Rome (a horse).
The fine draughtsmanship, symbolism and clarity of the design (which notably recalls one of the finest designs for a Napoleonic medal, Napoleon on Elba, by Louis Lafitte) exemplify Powell’s learned medallic practice.

This silvered and enamelled bronze medal was struck to commemorate the British Museum. It was commissioned by the British Museum to Felicity Powell and was struck by Thomas Fattorini Ltd. in Britain in 2011.
The ten animals depicted on the reverse represent the ten departments of the British Museum.

A.6-2011