I haven't seen too many people post photos of medals. I collect medals from France and the Low Countries. Anyone else? Chris
Beautiful medals Chris! I have one French medal that I use as my avatar, you have seen it a hundred times. Silver, circa about 1920, that's about all I know. I just liked it. Here it is a little larger... I also have a few dozen Swiss Schutzenfest medals as well, mostly ones designed by Holy Freres and Hans Frei. Here are a few examples... That's enough for now, as I don't want to hijack the thread. :whistle:
You're not hijacking my thread! I want everyone to post their medals. Your French medal is a portrayal of Marianne, the symbol of France. I have many depictions of her by various medallists. It's interesting how each artist has their own vision of her. Hans Frei was born in Basle, Switzerland in 1868 and eventually went to Paris to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and Academie Julian. He also trained under Alexandre Louis Marie Charpentier and the renowned Louis Oscar Roty. I don't have any information on Freres. Could it be a spelling error? As for shooting competitions, I have a few of these medals, but this is my favorite. Chris
I wouldn't say I collect European medals but somehow I've accumulated these pieces and more! :bigeyes: Guess I just liked the look.
Here's all I have found about Holy Freres from a book by Ferrer..... Holy Freres (i.e. "Holy Brothers") was a firm which was established in 1893 at St. Imier in Switzerland. The brothers, Franz Holy & Jules Holy directed it. They were watch-case manufacturers & diesinkers. They eventually branched out into medal making. Forrer lists a number of medals and it appears the firm was most active in medal making from 1903-1911 (some medals are undated and might have been produced later). According to the Richter catalog Holy Freres produced 50+ Schutzenfest medals of which I own about 20. My long term goal is to find them all.
No wonder I couldn't find it. I thought Freres was the last name. Yes, I found the listing in Forrer's supplement. Chris
I had a collection of several dozen European medals, mainly from England, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, but I sold nearly all of them 1-2 years ago to fund my Conder collection. I still have old scans of some of the medals. The 2 I miss the most (other than my Weiner Cathedral medals) are my Pinches version of the Pistrucci Waterloo medal and a beautiful architectural medal of Notre Dame that was in a contemporary round wood screw top holder. I think I had 2 versions of this Austrian medal I've always loved the French helmets on Marianne
Victorian Art Award medal. I do not remember whose name was inscribed on the edge. 25th Anniversary of Belgium I will need to look around to see if I have any more images.
Actually it's not an illusion. Unlike coins medals can be struck in very high relief which is one reason why I was attracted to them in the first place. Two more medals to keep the thread moving along...
