French Committee of Exhibitions thumbnail 1

French Committee of Exhibitions

Medal
1930-1935 (struck)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In this powerful octagonal medal and Art Deco design Turin’s imagery combines the god Mercury, perhaps as an allegory of eloquence and reason, and a cogged wheel representing the modern machine age.
One aspect of Art Deco was a revival of Neo-classical art. Its sparse, simple clarity appealed to designers and artists trying to reduce images to their essential form.
In the Art Deco period, fashion and the decorative arts exploited a taste for the exotic and sensual

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleFrench Committee of Exhibitions (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Bronze, struck
Brief description
Medal, bronze, by Pierre Turin (1891-1968), French, 1930-5
Physical description
Obverse: Head of male (Mercury) with caduceus. Singed: P. TURIN.
Reverse: torch with laurel branch. Inscription.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 71.8mm
  • Weight: 174.9g
Style
Marks and inscriptions
'COMITÉ FRANÇAIS DES EXPOSITIONS / 1885 / M.J. BRUNETON.' (reverse)
Translation
French Exhibitions Committee
Credit line
Given by Professor and Mrs J. Hull Grundy
Object history
Given by Professor J. Hull Grundy and Mrs. Ann Hull Grundy, in 1980.
Subjects depicted
Summary
In this powerful octagonal medal and Art Deco design Turin’s imagery combines the god Mercury, perhaps as an allegory of eloquence and reason, and a cogged wheel representing the modern machine age.
One aspect of Art Deco was a revival of Neo-classical art. Its sparse, simple clarity appealed to designers and artists trying to reduce images to their essential form.
In the Art Deco period, fashion and the decorative arts exploited a taste for the exotic and sensual
Bibliographic references
  • Vandenbrouck-Przybylski, Melanie, ' 'These should without delay be represented in our museum' Nineteenth- and twentieth-century French medals at the V&A', The Medal, No.61, Autumn 2012, pp. 21-37, fig. 18
  • Fisher, Wendy, French Medal Design in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco Periods, London: The Victoria and Albert Museum, 2000.
Collection
Accession number
A.25-1980

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Record createdJanuary 22, 2004
Record URL
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