Chats on Military Curios

by Stanley C. Johnson

[17] Perhaps it will be well to briefly explain this system of founding, as it is not generally understood. Adeline in "The Art Dictionary," p. 243, describes it as follows:—

"A process of bronze founding in which the core is covered with an accurate representation of the object to be cast in wax, the wax being of the intended thickness of the metal. The wax is then coated with a porous clay, and the whole mass is put in a pit and baked. During the process of baking the wax melts and runs off through apertures left for the purpose. The space left after the wax is melted is occupied by the metal. This, the oldest method of bronze founding, is probably the best, and in the present day it is being pretty generally adopted. In the method, which for some time has been in vogue, the core was made of the exact size of the object to be cast and afterwards pared down, so as to leave space for the metal to run in between the core and the mould."

The earliest medallions date from very remote times, but the Hadrian era may be considered the period in which these souvenirs of memorable actions first became popular. From Hadrian's time to the fall of the Roman Empire they were struck to commemorate every deed of note, but after the decline we hear little of them until the Renaissance, when such Italian artists as Pisano and Guaciolotti revived their popularity. From the Renaissance onwards, the art of medallion-making flourished in Italy under the guidance of Benvenuto Cellini, of Albert Dürer in Germany, and of Jacques Primavera in France, but it was not until the time of Henry VIII that English workers turned their attention to this pleasing way of marking important military and civil events. Of course, we find medallions commemorating glorious deeds which took place in periods other than those mentioned; in such cases, the pieces were probably struck long after the occurrence took place.

It is a little difficult to know what specimens to include and what to exclude from a collection of medallions, as there are no official issues, and as any metal worker can flood the market with original designs of his own or with facsimiles of rare and ancient strikings of bygone artists. Personally, we think that any medallion which is artistically fashioned and which commemorates an event of interest to us is worth adding to the collection, but, of course, we must learn to know the difference between an original and a counterfeit specimen. This, however, is too intricate a science to explain here, but can be learnt from works written by numismatists, with a fair amount of application.

No catalogues exist of the English medallions issued since Henry VIII's time, but the pieces which are the most interesting were struck by:—

1. Simon, who grew to fame in the reign of Charles II. He engraved the royal seals and executed many fine medallions.

2. Rawlings.

3. The Wyon family. William Wyon, the most renowned of at least three engravers of this family, engraved the royal seals, the Peninsular medals, and the dies for the first postage stamps, besides many medallions of a military and civil interest.

Collectors of these metal souvenirs should examine the exhibits in the British Museum and the Royal United Service Museum, whilst an occasional glance in the windows of Messrs. Spink & Sons in Piccadilly will often reveal specimens of more than ordinary interest. This well-known firm issue a monthly circular which contains much of interest to the reader who is intent on adding valuable specimens to his collection.