Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria thumbnail 1
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria

Medal
1887 (made)
Artist/Maker
Gilbert, Alfred (Sir) (sculptor)
Place of origin
London (made)

The 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne was marked by exuberant celebrations and a great number of commemorative wares. This medal was issued by the Art Union of London, an organisation that encouraged public interest in the arts and also celebrated its own Golden Jubilee in 1887.

Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Coins & Medals
Object type
Medal
TitleGolden Jubilee of Queen Victoria (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Bronze, cast
Bronze
Brief description
Medal, London, 1887, Sir Alfred Gilbert, Queen Victoria, ship
Physical description
Medal, bronze. Obverse side: bust of the crowned and veiled sitter facing to the righ. Inscription of a tablet below the bust and around the border. Reverse side, a singed figure testing the direction fo the wind standing on the stern castle of a ship and a putto at the bow of it.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 64mm
Marks and inscriptions
  • ANN. IVBIL. 1887
  • VICTORIA QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND & EMPRESS OF INDIA
  • ART SAILETH THOUGH LIFE FAILETH. ART UNION OF LONDON 1837- 1887.
Object history
Bought from R.G. Coats for £35.
Subjects depicted
Ship
Victoria (Queen of Great Britain and Empress of India)
Summary
The 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne was marked by exuberant celebrations and a great number of commemorative wares. This medal was issued by the Art Union of London, an organisation that encouraged public interest in the arts and also celebrated its own Golden Jubilee in 1887.
Bibliographic references
  • Beaulah, G.K. 'The Medals of the Art Union of London', British Numismatic Journal, vol. XXXVI, p. 185.
  • Brown, L. British Historical Medals 1837-1901. The Reign of Queen Victoria, London, 1986, no. 2633.
  • Attwood, P. Artistic Cirlces., British Museum, London, 1992, p. 39
  • Attwood, P, 'Lifting the Veil: new light on the medals of Alfred Gilbert' in Burlington Magazine, Feb 1995, vol. CXXXVII, No. 1103, pp. 92-95, figs. 45a, 45b
  • Trusted, Marjorie (ed.), The Making of Sculpture. The materials and techniques of European sculpture, London, 2007, p. 90, pl. 155.
  • Droth, Martina, Edwards, Jason, and Hatt, Michael, Sculpture Victorious: Art in an Age of Invention, 1837-1901, exh. cat., YUP, New Haven and London, 2015, pp. 89-90
  • Maas, Jeremy. This Brilliant Year, Queen Victoria's Jubilee, 1887, London : Royal Academy of Arts, 1977.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.94-1970

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Record createdMay 4, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O111663/golden-jubilee-of-queen-victoria-medal-gilbert-alfred-sir/
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