Medal
ca. 1915 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
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This iron medal was made by Adolf Daumiller in Germany, in about 1915. Both side of this medal forcefully convey the supposedly vicious qualities of the enemy. The image on the obverse, a chariot driven by a Britannia, personified as a slightly wild and dissolute woman, is led by the English lion with six portrait heads, personifications of the Allies Belgium, France, Russia, Japan, Serbia, and Italy, the latter having joined the Allies in 1915, and the scene symbolising their ambition to conquer the world. The inscription, a doggerel conflation of 'Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves' with the German anthem "über alles in der Welt" (over all the world) is both awkward and misspelt. The head of Medusa surrounded by dolphins on the reverse is a malevolent symbol for the maritime power of Great Britain.
Object details
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Brief description | Medal, Britannia in chariot/Britannia as Medusa. iron Germany ca. 1915, Adolf Daumiller. |
Physical description | Obv., a female figure in a chariot driving a lion with six male portrait heads emerging from the body of the lion like a hydra. Rev., the head of Medusa with snakes coiled among her hair surrounded by three dolphins. |
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Summary | This iron medal was made by Adolf Daumiller in Germany, in about 1915. Both side of this medal forcefully convey the supposedly vicious qualities of the enemy. The image on the obverse, a chariot driven by a Britannia, personified as a slightly wild and dissolute woman, is led by the English lion with six portrait heads, personifications of the Allies Belgium, France, Russia, Japan, Serbia, and Italy, the latter having joined the Allies in 1915, and the scene symbolising their ambition to conquer the world. The inscription, a doggerel conflation of 'Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves' with the German anthem "über alles in der Welt" (over all the world) is both awkward and misspelt. The head of Medusa surrounded by dolphins on the reverse is a malevolent symbol for the maritime power of Great Britain. |
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Collection | |
Accession number | A.142-1920 |
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Record created | June 24, 2009 |
Record URL |
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