Medallions

1990? Gray medallion of Ivan Krylov as in his famous statue in St. Petersburg. Porcelain? Verso with symbols including a dramatic mask, a lyre, a laurel wreath, and text. $20 from an unknown source, Sept., '18. The writing on the back includes "I. A. Krylov"; "Sculptor (Peter) Crodt"; and "Leningrad." Other elements seem to include something like "Lamjatnik" and "B. Detnem Sady." Sorry not to comprehend or even transliterate those better! Use of "Leningrad" rather than "St. Petersburg" puts the medallion before 1991, when the name was officially changed to "St. Petersburg." I have sought in vain to find a comparable piece on the web.

1960? Bronze medallion of "Le Lion et le Rat," signed by Alber(t) de Jaeger. Slightly over 2¼" diameter. The title of the fable is above an illustration of the netted lion, below which are the first two lines of the poem. The verso contains the fable from lines 5 through the end, with the second moral around the rim of the verso. $20 from numispechincha through Ebay, April 18. I am surprised not to find this heavy medallion represented somewhere on the web. I feel like I have looked at hundreds of de Jaeger medallions, but not one representation of this one. The stylization of the net as absolutely symmetrical is perhaps the most unusual feature of this medallion. I wonder if it might be rare! Do not miss the tiny rat at work in the upper left corner of the net. Reading the tight presentation of the fable text on the verso is difficult! Might the medallion have come from some series?

1980? Two 2 1/2" medallions by Charles Virion of La Fontaine fables. "The Cat, the Weasel and the Hare" and "The Animals in the Plague." The latter for $60 from herefordius through Ebay, August, '20. These medallions are very similar in format to the large series done by Jean Vernon. One notices the different artist immediately. These two are the only members of the series that I have found online.

1950? Five bronze medallions depicting fables of La Fontaine. Artist: Jean Vernon. Nothing on the verso. Three came for $31 or $32 each from James Johnson, Tucker, GA, through eBay, August, '05. Two-sided medallion of La Fontaine and his muse for $25 from numest, Talinn, Estonia, through Ebay, August, '21. "Fox and Goat in the Well" for $4.99 from T. Lantz, Isle of Palms, SC, through Ebay, May, '22. These smaller medallions are in exactly the same style as the 2½" variety. The fiveI have are FC, FG, FS, GA, and WL. FG has something other than the title of the fable and the artist's name: "Ils sont trop verts et bons pour les goujats." Similarly, WL has the opening lines of its fable, and GA the closing line of its. The workmanship is excellent. I continue to pursue the question of whether some medallions were cast only in the smaller format and others only in the larger--or whether there were two complete sets, and how large they were. Are there more out there? I will give the "La Fontaine" medallion its own row, to show both faces.

I have found two sets of Jean Vernon medallions, 2½" and 1½" in diameter. They come from a variety of sources and tended to range between $30 and $75 apiece. For the 2½" medallions, two sources have been John Wiersma in Holland in Sept., '03, and Frances Trachtenberg, Massapequa Park, NY, March, '04. The workmanship on these medallions is outstanding! The Wiersma medallions have notifications on the verso: "Crepsa - 1950 - I: Dr. M. Van de Wyer"; "Crepsa - 1952 - 2 C. Tr. - I: Le Dr. M. Van de Wyer"; and "Crepsa - 1952 - C.D. Tr. Eprs - I: Le Dr. M. Van de Wyer." Otherwise the verso tends to be blank. From what I gather on the web, our collection is missing only FG in the 2½" medallions.