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Medal
John Croker, born 1670 - died 1741 - Enlarge image
Medal
- Object:
Medal
- Place of origin:
London, England (made)
- Date:
1709 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
John Croker, born 1670 - died 1741 (signed by, maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Struck silver
- Credit Line:
Bequeathed by Miss M. E. Waldo-Sibthorp
- Museum number:
1894-1902
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 54b, case 13
Object Type
This commemorative medal celebrates the victory of the British and the forces of the Holy Roman Emperor over the French at Malplaquet in the Spanish Netherlands (now France) on 31 August 1709.
Queen Anne is portrayed on one side, crowned and wearing an embroidered gown with the collar and star of the Garter. The abbreviated Latin legend on this side translates as 'Anne, by the Grace of God, Queen of Great Britain, France and Ireland'. On the reverse is an allegorical figure of Victory, flying with two laurel wreaths above French entrenchments under attack in a wood. The inscription on this side includes the date and the Latin phrase CONCORDIA ET VIRTUTE ('By concord and virtue').
People
John Croker, or Johann Crocker, (1670-1741) was born in Dresden in Saxony and was apprenticed to a jeweller. He arrived in London in 1691and remained in England for the rest of his life. He became a leading medallist, being appointed Assistant Engraver to the London Mint in 1697 and Chief Engraver in 1705.
Subject Depicted
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought to resolve the question of the Spanish throne following the death of Charles II in 1700. Philip of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV of France, had been named the sole heir but his claim was disputed. War ensued, with the Holy Roman Empire, the United Provinces (the Dutch) and Britain on one side, and France and Spain on the other.
The Battle of Malplaquet was a major engagement in the war. The combined forces of Britain, under the Duke of Marlborough, and those of the Holy Roman Emperor, under Prince EugŠne of Savoy, met the French army led by Marshal Villars. The French were forced to retreat, though the armies of the Grand Alliance suffered more than 20,000 casualties, twice the number of French casualties. However, the battle was a strategic victory for France as it prevented an Allied advance to Paris.
