Medal
1915 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This is a bronze medal made by Henry Nocq in France, 1915 to commemorate French writers who had fallen in the Great War. Correspondence from Henry Nocq dated 28 August 1916 to Eric Maclagan reveals that in the previous year the French writer Maurice Barrés commissioned Nocq to design a medal in memory of French writers killed in the war. The families of dead writers would receive a silver medal, and a limited edition of fifty bronze medals was also struck for collections in Europe. Nocq stated categorically that the medal was not and never would be sold commercially. In this way Nocq and Barrés fulfilled the commemorative function of medals, and at the same time, secured the survival of the medal itself in European cultural institutions.
Henry Nocq, also sometimes known as Henri-Eugéne Nocq, was a scholar, critic, sculptor and medalist who studied under Chapu and exhibited regularly at Paris Salons from 1887. Nocq's approach to design intergrates both faces of the medal by completing the obverse legend on the reverse to poignant effect. The soft, drooping posture of the contemplative, mouring figure on the reverse, thought to be derived from ancient coinage, is in marked contrast to the strident shouting figure of the obverse.
Henry Nocq, also sometimes known as Henri-Eugéne Nocq, was a scholar, critic, sculptor and medalist who studied under Chapu and exhibited regularly at Paris Salons from 1887. Nocq's approach to design intergrates both faces of the medal by completing the obverse legend on the reverse to poignant effect. The soft, drooping posture of the contemplative, mouring figure on the reverse, thought to be derived from ancient coinage, is in marked contrast to the strident shouting figure of the obverse.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Bronze |
Brief description | French writers killed in the Great War, struck bronze, by Henry Nocq, French, 20th century, 1915. |
Physical description | Obv., the winged, female figure of victorious France strides forward, shouting, on the battlefield with raised arms, brandishing a sword in her right hand and with a cannon in front of her. Rev., a mourning, winged figure, holding a wreath and seated on an inscribed tomb on which are placed a sword, a French soldier's 'kepi'(cap) and an open book.A cross with rays emanating from it in the background. The edge of this medal is incuse cornucopia of Paris Mint mark. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions |
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Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This is a bronze medal made by Henry Nocq in France, 1915 to commemorate French writers who had fallen in the Great War. Correspondence from Henry Nocq dated 28 August 1916 to Eric Maclagan reveals that in the previous year the French writer Maurice Barrés commissioned Nocq to design a medal in memory of French writers killed in the war. The families of dead writers would receive a silver medal, and a limited edition of fifty bronze medals was also struck for collections in Europe. Nocq stated categorically that the medal was not and never would be sold commercially. In this way Nocq and Barrés fulfilled the commemorative function of medals, and at the same time, secured the survival of the medal itself in European cultural institutions. Henry Nocq, also sometimes known as Henri-Eugéne Nocq, was a scholar, critic, sculptor and medalist who studied under Chapu and exhibited regularly at Paris Salons from 1887. Nocq's approach to design intergrates both faces of the medal by completing the obverse legend on the reverse to poignant effect. The soft, drooping posture of the contemplative, mouring figure on the reverse, thought to be derived from ancient coinage, is in marked contrast to the strident shouting figure of the obverse. |
Bibliographic reference | Cullen, Lucy, Fisher, Wendy and Jopek, Norbert, 'One by One': European Commemorative Medals for the Great War 1914-1918, London : Victoria & Albert Museum, 1998
34 |
Collection | |
Accession number | A.12-1916 |
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Record created | February 24, 2009 |
Record URL |
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