Medal striking & casting

Sketchbook, Felicity Powell, 2001-2. Graphite on paper. Museum no. E.1034-2003. Given by the artist.
The drawings show Powell exploring an idea that she later translated into the design for the reverse of the Robinson medal. She took the hands from the carved figures in The Annunciation by Arnolfo di Cambio of about 1300. Robinson bought this work for the Museum in 1861.

Model for the reverse of the medal, Felicity Powell, 2002. Plaster. Museum no. A.7-2002. Given by the artist.
This is one of the models that Powell developed during the evolution of her design.

Bronze Medal (reverse view), Felicity Powell, cast by Alan Dunn, London, England 2004. Cast bronze. Museum no. A.10-2004
The final version was cast using ceramic shell technique, which has originally developed for precision castings. It is ideally suited to casting small-scale objects and was first used by artists in the 1950s. The wax is surrounded by a shell of ceramic particles bound together. As the shell is porous there is no need to construct vents to allow the gas given off during casting to escape.

'John Charles Robinson Medal', Felicity Powell, 2002. Cast by Alan Dunn, London, England, 2002. Patinated cast bronze. Museum no. A.5-2002. Commissioned by the V&A with funding from an anonymous donor.
Surface treatments greatly affect our appreciation of a medal. Here Powell has applied a copper nitrate solution, under heat, to give a greenish-blue patination (a chemical alteration of a metal surface, resulting in a change of colour). Unusually, she has left the edge unpatinated. Instead, she has polished it and stamped it with Robinson's full name and dates, adding also the cryptic message 'From Few to Many'.