Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
1972.2496 |
Object Name |
Medallion |
Title |
Medallion with Portrait of George Washington |
Artist |
Bentley, A. H. |
School |
Wedgwood |
Description |
Profile portrait of George Washington, identical to 58.S.46. White on black dip jasperware. Inscribed "WEDGWOOD/O" and "Washington" on rear. |
Label |
This profile portrait of George Washington is derived from a 1789 medal by Pierre Simon Benjamin Duvivier that commemorates the commander-in-chief's retaking of Boston from the British in March of 1776. Duvivier based his portrayal of Washington on a 1785 bust of Washington, sculpted at Mount Vernon by Jean Antoine Houdon. The Duvivier medal was one of a series by different artists honoring revolutionary heroes, commissioned by the Continental Congress and executed in Paris. Since Josiah Wedgwood, founder of the famed English ceramics firm, was a supporter of revolutionary ideals, his firm produced a number of medallions representing the American founding fathers. The original Wedgwood medallion of Washington was made in 1790. A. H. Bentley, a sculptor at Wedgwood in the early 20th century, may have molded the APS's medallion. Bentley reproduced several earlier medallions, and his replicas are often mistaken for the 18th-century originals. |
Medium |
Ceramic |
Dimensions |
H-8 W-7 inches |
Dimension Details |
Oval Framed: 12 x 11 x 1.5 |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society. Gift of the estate of Isaac Minis Hays, 1967. |
Search Terms |
18th century eighteenth century Founding Father sculpture profile president |