A fellow numismatist that I know is trying to figure out what the actual Chinese characters are in the edge lettering of this Chinese commemorative medal: The lettering (I think the third from the left is "國" meaning "nation") I think this is the name of the Rheinisch Church: What are these Chinese characters? ___________________________________________________ This is the commemorative medal, obverse and reverse. The Chinese calligraphy was executed by one of China's most famous artists of the 20th Century, Zhang Daqian. The obverse was designed by Arnold Machin, the artist who drew the image of the Queen on all of the British Commonwealth coins from 1968 to 1984:
mlov43, Your medal is fascinating in a number of ways, 1st having Zhang Daqian's calligraphy on the reverse, 2nd having Arnold Machin's work on the obverse, & 3rd why didn't a German celator design the obverse? Zhang Daqian was not only the greatest artist coming out of China in the 20th century, he was the greatest forger also ! His skill in reproducing masterpieces was unmatched by anyone else .
All I could find is that the Machin "side" of the medal refers to the Lutheran church in Hong Kong, but you probably already know that. Chris
Yeah, I read that he was an art forger, too. Probably on the level, or higher, of Elmyr de Hory. If you like the topic of fakery, take a look at this Orson Welles masterpiece:
I watched F for Fake this evening, it's a great movie . Orson Welles gift of narration & oration made the movie special. Elmyr is without doubt the best forger of the post Impressionist Period, however, the subject mater he was forging was much easier to copy than the work of Zhang Daqian . I loved the clips of Oja Kodar & the gawkers . It's amazing how all these fakers knew each other & managed to socialize together so comfortably . Thanks for the tip .
