General Joffre
Medal
1915 (made)
1915 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The obverse (primary face) of this medal has a three-quarter profile portrait of General Joffre, appointed Chief of the French General Staff in 1911, in charge of the Army at the outbreak of the first World War. He was effectively dismissed on 13th December 1916 following the French losses sustained during the German offensive at Verdun, for which he was blamed. However, he was made a Marshal of France that day and was very popular with the French public. This medal is typical of French medals produced by La Monnaie (Paris Mint) to commemorate the battles, victories, heroes and leaders of the First World War. Intensely patriotic, their decorative idealised style is still rooted in the nineteenth century and conveys little of the harsh reality of trench warfare.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | General Joffre (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Struck bronze |
| Brief description | General Joffre, struck bronze, by Jules Prosper Legastelois, French, 20th century, 1916. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Credit line | Given by Jack E. Ladevèze |
| Object history | Given, together with A.2, A.4 & A.5-2005, by J. Ladeveze, in 2005. |
| Historical context | One of several medals commemorating World War I events and military leaders by Legastelois made under the direction of the Monnaie de Paris. Portraits include those of Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929), 1920; Marshal Foch (1851-1929) about 1918; Lord Kitchener (1850-1916) about 1918; General Pershing (1860-1948), about 1918. Other medals include 'Pro Patria' 1911, 'Bataille de la Marne' 1914, 'À la gloire des alliés' 1916. |
| Production | Reason For Production: Commemorative |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | The obverse (primary face) of this medal has a three-quarter profile portrait of General Joffre, appointed Chief of the French General Staff in 1911, in charge of the Army at the outbreak of the first World War. He was effectively dismissed on 13th December 1916 following the French losses sustained during the German offensive at Verdun, for which he was blamed. However, he was made a Marshal of France that day and was very popular with the French public. This medal is typical of French medals produced by La Monnaie (Paris Mint) to commemorate the battles, victories, heroes and leaders of the First World War. Intensely patriotic, their decorative idealised style is still rooted in the nineteenth century and conveys little of the harsh reality of trench warfare. |
| Bibliographic reference | Forrer, Leonard: Biographical Dictionary of Medallists, Vol VII, 1923, pp.544-5 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.3-2005 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | August 30, 2006 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
