Medals Related to Mythology

The plaque's obverse bears nude Mercury, head turned towards left. He is soaring above sea, moon and star to his left, sun to his right. Signed around bottom right, ARTHUR LEE

I do not know much about this plaque. It appears to be an "unbranded" design of the Lehman Anniversary medallion's obverse. I would guess that this is a design that was created prior to Lehman Brothers' medallic commission and was then modified in accordance with customer requirements.

The subtly oval plaque measures 111.2mm x 115.7mm and was cast in bronze.

The medal's obverse bears Daedalus in flight, reaching for a star, his gossamer wings before large sun on star-strewn background; mountains below.  Along left and right edge, DAEDALUS - THE ARTIFICER

The reverse bears the guild's coat of arms with plough and tall ship in oval field, hand holding scales above, and palm fronds flanking. Around, ARTS & CRAFTS - GUILD - PHILADELPHIA; at bottom, MASTER / CRAFTSMAN / MEDAL

The Arts and Crafts movement was a social and aesthetic counterpoint to increasing industrialization and commoditization of work,  Arts and Crafts proponents sought to revitalize ideas of craftsmanship and artistic harmony in the areas of Architecture and Decorative Arts.  The Philadelphia Arts and Crafts Guild traces its roots back to several artist communities that were founded around the turn of the 19th century. The movement was already waning around the time of Workld War I.

The Arts & Crafts Guild of Philadelphia was organized in 1905 and formally incorporated in 1911. An entry in a directory shows the Guild having 115 members in 1914. The medal is unsigned and undated but the history of the Arts and Crafts Movement in Philadelphia makes it likely that it was designed in the late 1900's, maybe the early 1910's. Any further information would be highly welcome.

The octagonal medal measures 53.2mm x 69.9mm and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.

This medal's obverse depicts Truth guiding Apollo's chariot. At top, LVX ET / VERITAS; signed at bottom, B L PRATT

The reverse bears five lines of inscription flanked by burning torches, VNIVERSITAS YALENSIS / A D MDCCCCI / CONCELEBRAT / COLLEGIVM YALENSE / A D MDCCI CONDITVM

The edge is hallmarked TIFFANY & CO

Bela Lyon Pratt was himself a graduate of Yale and was commissioned in 1899 by Professors Weir and Niemeyer to design this medal for the upcoming 200th anniversary of Yale College. The medal was struck in silver and bronze. One of the silver medals was given to President Theodore Roosevelt and one of the bronze medals was taken into space by Astronaut Joseph B. Allen.

This is a beautiful medal with a very appropriate design for one of great universities of the world.

The circular medal measures 70mm in diameter and was produced by Tiffany & Company of New York. It was struck in bronze and silver in unknown mintages.

References:   Baxter 217, Marqusee 325

The medal's obverse bears bust of young laurel-crowned Apollo, facing right, within beaded border. Signed at lower right (AAW monogram).

The reverse bears oil lamp with three flames and light rays within beaded border and raised rim. Below, NATIONAL·INSTITUTE· / ·OF·ARTS·AND · / · LETTERS ·

The medal is inscribed to Charles McLean Andrews on the edge.

Charles McLean Andrews (1863-1943) was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, where his father was a minister in the Catholic Apostolic Church. He studied first at Trinity and then at Johns Hopkins, where he received his Ph.D. in 1889. After teaching stints at Bryn Mawr and Johns Hopkins he finished his career at Yale, where he taught American history from 1910 until his retirement in 1931.

Honored with many memberships and fellowships for his historical publications‒he published 102 major scholarly articles and books as well as over 360 book reviews, newspaper articles and short items‒he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1935 and this medal in 1937. The National Institute of Arts and Letters' Gold Medal is only awarded once a decade and easily one of the most coveted prizes in the humanities.

The circular medal measures 57.6mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and gold-plated bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintages are reported but the awarded medal should be an exceedingly rare specimen!

Many thanks to the Yale University Art Gallery's Numismatics department for its generosity and assistance in making this beautiful medal available to me for research.

References:   Baxter 176, MACo 1909-007

The obverse bears bust of Babelon, left. Around, ERNEST · BABELON · DE · L'INSTITUT · ; signed to the right of bust, G. DEVREESE. / 1910

The reverse bears helmeted bust of Athena, left, holding spear and shield. Around, CONGRES INTERN · DE NUM · ET D'ART DE LA MED · BRUXELLES 1910 · ; signed in right field, R. BOSSELT

Ernest Babelon (1854-1924) was a French numismatist and classical archaeologist. In 1899 he was recognised with the Medal of the Royal Numismatic Society and in 1922 with the Archer M. Huntington Medal.

This medal was the 29th official issue of the American Numismatic Society. Issued jointly by the ANS and the Société Hollandaise-Belge des Amis de la Médaille d'Art, the reported mintage only applies to those pieces that were produced for the ANS.

This medal measures 65mm in diameter and was struck by Alphonse Michaux. The mintage is 156 pieces in silver and 505 in bronze.

References:   ANS 29, Baxter 259, Marqusee 120

The plaque bears Heracles running next to Ceryneian Hind, both facing left, within heavily beaded border. Signed at bottom, EDWARD FIELD SANFORD JR. 1914.

It was Heracles' third labour to catch the Ceryneian Hind. Heracles had proven that killing great beasts was a challenge he could overcome with relative ease. Catching the Ceryneian Hind was supposed to be impossible as the sacred deer could outrun even arrows that were shot at her. Even were Heracles to succeed, by doing so he would anger the goddess Artemis, because the hind was hers.

Heracles succeeded by catching the hind, apologizing to Artemis and promising to let the hind go after the completion of his task, and then tricking Eurystheus into letting the hind go after he had confirmed the challenge's completion.

The circular plaque measures 142.5mm in diameter and was cast in bronze. No mintage is reported.

The medallion's obverse bears portrait of younf Maxfield Parrish, facing right. Around, at left and right, · MAXFIELD · / · PARRISH ·

The reverse bears rearing Pegasus facing right before sun.

Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966) was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery.

Parrish and Manship were both members of Augustus Saint-Gaudens' Cornish Art Colony in Cornish, New Hampshire. Saint-Gaudens had started the art colony in 1885 and attracted a group of friends, assistants, promising young art students and hangers-on.  Parrish and his wife moved to Cornish in 1898 and built a home that was later nicknamed "The Oaks."  The home was surrounded by beautiful landscapes that inspired many of Parrish’s drawings.

The art colony started falling apart after Saint-Gaudens' death in 1907 but Parrish and Manship had another geographical location in common.  Both shared a love for the Cape Anne area of Massachusetts. Parrish had lived in Annisquam for a while and Manship fell in love with the areas as well and bought a vacation home in Gloucester.

The circular medallion measures around 84mm in diameter and is cast in bronze. The depicted medallions are early designs.  In the finished medallion Pegasus is more detailed and the reverse is signed and dated.

References:   Murtha 65

The medallion's obverse bears portrait of Barry Faulkner in beaded center field; small bird ti his left. Around, · (rosetta) · BARRY · FAULKNER ·  (rosetta) · / · PAINTER ·  (rosetta) · MCMXV ·

The reverse bears nude Orpheus with lyre pursuing nude, winged Eurydice. Around, · TO · THE · ULTIMATE · DO · WE · PURSUE · THE · IDEAL · ; signed under lyre, · PAUL · MANSHIP ·

Barry Faulkner (1881-1966) was an American artist primarily known for his murals. During World War I, he and sculptor Sherry Edmundson Fry organized artists for training as camouflage specialists (called camoufleurs), an effort that contributed to the founding of the American Camouflage Corps in 1917.

Faulkner and Manship had both been students at the American Academy in Rome from 1909 to 1912. They also both had studios in the Cape Anne area of Massachusetts. This medallion was apparently used as an award medal by the Rockport Art Association.

The circular medallion measures 89.4mm in diameter and was cast in bronze. No production quantity is reported.

References:   Murtha 63

The medal's obverse bears kneeling semi-nude female figure facing left, holding goddess of victory in one hand, lyre in the other. Around, · ST · PAUL ·  - · INSTITUTE · ; signed in exergue, P · MANSHIP

The reverse bears winged steed in flight over large sun; wreath around bottom.

Paul Manship attended the St. Paul School of Art, which was later renamed to Saint Paul Institute of Arts and Sciences. I guess this medal was a thank you to his alma mater where his lifelong passion for sculpture was first kindled.

The medal's reverse is very reminiscent of the Art Directors' Club medal's obverse.

The circular medal measures 53.6mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   Baxter 364, MACo 1916-012-01, Murtha 76