1914 Weltkrieg Medal

cacheman

I can't tell you much about this piece off-hand as I am researching it right now. I won it recently in an auction from Germany and I bid on it primarily because I loved the masculine imagery portrayed by both the obverse and reverse designs. This is one hety cast bronze medal measuring 85.5 X 82mm and weighing 276.57g. It reminds me a lot of a hockey puck Anyway, this was made my R.Zutt and as soon as I get more info about it I will add it to this thread. Enjoy.

elverno

What a beauty.

Forrer quotes Schulman from Catalogue des Medailles ayant rapport a la guerre europeenne 1914-1915 as calling

<< <i>this medallion a master-piece cast in the Renaissance style >>

.

Couldn't say it better myself!

Darkhorse

Weltkrieg, World War. It looks quite fascinating and I'd love to get my hands on one of those as well.

The serpent the dude is clubbing is probably France... but it reminds me of a statue here in Karlsruhe in the Schlossplatz:

Steve27

Nice medal! But at over half a pound, I think it's too heavy to be a hockey puck.

theboz11

Nice one

oldshep

Scott - Now that IS a beauty ! Wow, where did you find out about the auction?
Shep

cacheman

I asked a fellow collector what they could tell me about this medal and this is what he said:

Hans Shulmann called this one of the very few modern masterpieces. It is a celebrated medal in all quarters. The medal was cast for the Hungarian Numismatic Artists Society. By selling and auctioning off these medals the Society was able to raise money to help indigent artists who had been wounded or displaced by the war.The initials of this organization are represented by the REVE on the rev. The obverse is Hercules fighting the Hydra. Although this motif became overused and trite after a few years of the war, in 1914 it was still pretty fresh. That said I would add that I know of no other treatment of this theme which can march this one in power and originality. Zutt was a well-know sculptor and an Art professor in Budapest. Besides this medal he also did a number of powerful medals for the Austro-Hungarian Army Red Cross. These Austrian Red Cross medals are one of the most striking series of the war. The leading young avant-garde medallists were asked to submit designs and models honoring a segment of the Armed Forces. Most are struck blackened Zink of 45mm. They all share a common text reverse and each exhibits an allegorical obv. - many sea monsters, Neptunes carrying bombs underarm, Icarus with double headed eagles on his shoulders attack enemy planes, etc. One of my very favorite suite of medals. But hella rare and tough to find. I believe Prof. Zutt is responsible for 3 of them.

Shep, go to sixbid and you'll find a large number of auction houses to choose from. I just email them for a catalog. A hint to continue receiving their catalogs is to bid in each auction...I'll bid low on at least one piece to keep my subscription coming.

boz

Another great looker. Thanks for sharing

farthing

Interesting how the date works as the reverse design.

Makarovii

<< <i>Interesting how the date works as the reverse design. >>



I agree. When did Art Deco begin? The 1920s are considered the beginning but the stylized date on this medal pre-date it by six years.

cosmicdebris

Cool he is branching out more Goetz for others

Askari

That's a dang neat medal!! I can't add more to the description than your friend has provided, other than that I've only seen one before. I'd love to find one of Zutt's pieces like this one!!

cacheman

Yeah, my friend just picked up a cast silver example of this medal about six months ago...the auction house didn't know what they had(much more rare than the bronze example) and he picked it up for a third of it's value. I remember being very impressed by it's "heft" and design when I saw it at the Portland ANA show.

Mark, I may be selling this in the near future as I am not branching out from Goetz as Cosmic had so gleefully remarked....

Askari

Well, let me know if you decide to part with it. I've been unsuccessful in obtaining any of his Austrian Red Cross medals, which are a real delight. The bidding tends to get quite spirited when one shows up.


Gregg, here's a little more info on Art Deco. Since it evolved from a variety of sources, it's difficult to peg where and when it started and ended. Certainly, its heyday was the 1920s & 1930s. In many ways, the brutality of WWI slew the fin-de-siècle sense of beauty and possibility represented by its chief predecessor, Art Nouveau. Art Deco took a more mechanistic approach that seemed to better fit the modern age. In its turn, WWII buried the Art Deco spirit as well. Here's a good source for learning more about Art Nouveau & Art Deco medals: finemedals.com.

Makarovii

Mark, thanks for the links! You know where I'll be for the next hour or more...