'Head of Orpheus', medal

'Head of Orpheus', medal, Marie Alexandre Lucien Coudray, 1899, Museum no. A.21-1914

'Head of Orpheus'
Medal (obverse view)
Marie Alexandre Lucien Coudray (1864-1932)
France (Paris)
1899
Bronze, struck
Museum no. A.21-1914
Given by Mr H.C. Marillier

Issued by the Paris Mint as part of a series by celebrated medallists, this medal was offered for sale at the International Exhibition of 1900. Over 2500 were sold.

View the reverse of  this medal

'Mercury with the Infant Bacchus', medal

'Mercury with the Infant Bacchus', medal, Emmanuel Hannaux, about 1895-1905. Museum no. 839-1900

'Mercury with the Infant Bacchus'
Medal (uniface)
Emmanuel Hannaux (1855-1934)
France
About 1895-1905
Electrotype
Museum no. 839-1900

This elegant Art Nouveau medal shows an episode from classical mythology in which Mercury holds the infant Bacchus before handing him into the care of nymphs.

'Sarah Bernhardt', René Lalique

'Sarah Bernhardt', René Lalique, about 1890-1900. Museum no. A.28-1924

'Sarah Bernhardt'
Plaquette
René Lalique (1860-1945)
France (Paris)
About 1890-1900
Silvered gilt, struck; uniface
Museum no. A.28-1924
Bequeathed by Sir Claude Phillips

Sarah Bernhardt was one of Lalique's most important patrons. His exquisite miniature portrait in metal captures the celebrated actress in a sensuous Art Nouveau style.

'Emile Gallé', plaquette

'Emile Gallé', plaquette, Henry Nocq, 1901. Museum no. 162-1906

'Emile Gallé'
Plaquette (uniface)
Henry Nocq (1868-1944)
France (Paris)
1901
Bronze, cast
Museum no. 162-1906
Purchased from the artist

Henry Nocq's cast plaquette pays tribute to the Art Nouveau glass made by Emile Gallé. Its delicacy and accuracy rival the best portrait traditions of Renaissance medal making and 19th century photography.

Prize Medal of the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, Paris

Prize Medal of the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, Paris, 1925, Pierre Turin, 1925. Museum no. A.4-1978

Prize Medal of the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, Paris, 1925 (obverse view)
Pierre Turin (1891-1968)
France (Paris)
1925
Bronze, struck
Museum no. A.4-1978

The name 'Art Deco', first coined in the 1960s, derives from the title of the 1925 Exhibition. Pierre Turin's octagonal medal, its half-draped female figure with simplified flower garlands bursting through the picture plane, captures one aspect of Art Deco style.

'French Committee of Exhibitions', medal

'French Committee of Exhibitions', medal, Pierre Turin, about 1930-5. Museum no. A.25-1980

'French Committee of Exhibitions'
Medal (obverse view)
Pierre Turin (1891-1968)
France (Paris)
About 1930-5
Bronze, struck
Museum no. A.25-1980
Given by Professor and Mrs J. Hull Grundy

In this powerful 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.

View the reverse of this medal

'International Exhibition, Paris

'International Exhibition, Paris, 1937', medal, René Lalique, 1937. Museum no. Circ.93-1975

'International Exhibition Paris, 1937'
Medal
René Lalique (1860-1945)
France (Wingen-sur-Moder)
1937
Glass, press-moulded; made in the Lalique glassworks
Museum no. Circ.93-1975

Lalique's glass medal, with its bold lettering with strong simplified figures, is a recognisably Art Deco design.

'Dancer with Tambourine', Marcel Claude Renard

'Dancer with Tambourine', Marcel Claude Renard, 1931. Museum no. A.7-1978

'Dancer with Tambourine'
Plaquette
Marcel Claude Renard (1892-1974)
France (Paris)
1931
Bronze, struck; uniface
Museum no. A.7-1978
Given by Mrs J. Hull Grundy

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.

'Adornment', plaquette

'Adornment', plaquette, Marcel Claude Renard, 1928. Museum no. A.149-1978

'Adornment'
Plaquette (uniface)
Marcel Claude Renard (1892-1974)
France (Paris)
1928
Bronze, struck
Museum no. A.149-1978
Given by Professor and Mrs J. Hull Grundy

In the 20th century medals sometimes had a practical purpose. The Paris jeweller, La Gerbe d'Or (The Golden Sheaf) presented its 1929 calendar suspended from this plaquette.

'Theatre', medal

'Theatre', medal, Maurice Delannoy, 1930. Museum no. A.23-1978

'Theatre'
Medal (obverse view)
Maurice Delannoy (1885-1972)
France (Paris)
1930
Bronze, struck
Museum no. A.23-1978
Given by Mrs J. Hull Grundy

Delannoy presents the genius of Theatre as a Neo-classical head surmounted by a winged figure of Love, the principal inspiration behind all theatre. He is flanked by female personifications of historic drama, lyric drama, dance, tragedy and comedy.

View the reverse of this medal

'French Electricity and Gas', medal

'French Electricity and Gas', medal, Henry Dropsy, about 1928. Museum no. A.69-1980

'French Electricity and Gas'
Medal (obverse view)
Henry Dropsy (1885-1969)
France (Paris)
About 1928
Bronze, struck and silvered
Museum no. A.69-1980
Given by Professor and Mrs J. Hull Grundy

Medal makers have always taken inspiration from mythological sources. The muscular style of Art Deco medals derived from Neo-classical sculpture

Inscribed 'ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE ET GAZ DE FRANCE'

View the reverse of this medal

'Nymph', medal

'Nymph', medal, Pierre Turin, 1932. Museum no. A.3-1978

'Nymph'
Medal
Pierre Turin (1891-1968)
France (Paris)
1932
Bronze, struck; uniface
Museum no. A.3-1978
Given by Mrs J. Hull Grundy

In the Art Deco period, fashion and the decorative arts exploited a taste for the exotic and sensual. Although Turin's Nymph derives from classical sources, its knowing smile epitomises modern Parisian sophistication. The design is still sold in various forms by the Paris Mint.

'Woman Smoking', plaquette

'Woman Smoking', plaquette, Pierre Lenoir, 1931. Museum no. A.6-1978

'Woman Smoking'
Plaquette (uniface)
Pierre Lenoir (1879-1953)
France (Paris)
1931
Bronze, struck
Museum no. A.6-1978
Given by Mrs J. Hull Grundy

Art Deco medals and plaquettes reflected changes within society. Here a half-dressed woman smoking a cigarette suggests modernity and a hedonistic approach to life.