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THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO
PISTRUCCI, Benedetto: England, 1815, Bronze
Electrotype, 134 mm
Obv: Conjoined busts (l) of George Augustus
Frederick, Prince Regent (later George IV of
England), Emperor Francis II of Austria, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and
King Frederick Wilhelm III of Prussia. Around:
Allegorical and mythological allusions to the treaty of peace which
resulted from the Battle of Waterloo. Apollo's chariot over the portraits
and the fleeing chariot of Night below them herald the victory of the
forces of Good. To the right of Apollo are his companions, the goddess of
the rainbow (Iris), and the god of the light wind (Zephyrus); to the left
is the constellation of Gemini, Castor and Pollux, indicating the month of June when the
battle took place. To the left and right of the central portraits are the
figures of Justice (Themis) and Might (Hercules). The figure of Hercules
is seated upon a rock above a cavern which suppresses the Furies who are
no longer able to leave the Cimmerian caverns. The Fates are shown below
the figure of Themis, indicating that in the future, human actions will be
governed by justice alone. Lower down, are the goddesses of destiny
(the Fates) and of vengeance (the Furies). They are on either side of the
chariot of Night (the mother of the Fates), who is receding into darkness.
Rev: The two horsemen in the center of the reverse
represent Blücher and Wellington. They are accompanied by Nike, the winged
goddess of victory. Over them is the chariot of Zeus (the Thunderer), and
below are twelve serpent-legged figures of titans personifying Europe's
twelve-year struggle against Napoleon.
Signed: PISTRUCCI on both obverse and
reverse
Very rare
Ref: BHM, 208/870; Hocking 207-210; Eimer,
133/1067; Forrer IV, p. 594-598 (ill.); Bramsen, 2317; D’Essling 1588;
Weiss BW361
This pair of electrotypes is housed in a
contemporary
Morocco case with velvet lining.
The Battle of Waterloo, which took place on June 18,
1815, was the final defeat of Napoleon after twenty-three years of war
between France and the other major European countries. After his
abdication as Emperor of France, Napoleon was banished to Elba in 1814.
However, Napoleon managed to escape, returned to Paris, and forced Louis
XVIII to flee, thus beginning his "one hundred days" back in
power. His newly-restored position of power was to abruptly end with one
final, decisive battle. The Battle was fought at Waterloo, nine miles
south of Brussels, between Bonaparte's French army and the allied forces
of the Duke of Wellington and the Prussians. Napoleon's legendary skill as
a general failed him, as he made the fatal mistake of delaying the start
until midday, hoping for drier ground. This delay allowed the Prussian
troops under Field Marshal von Blücher to join Wellington's army. The
Emperor and his marshals were unable to withstand the attack, losing
25,000 men. Napoleon was forced to abdicate for the second time four days
later.
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The circumstances involved in the production of
Pistrucci's medal of the Battle of Waterloo are described by
Laurence Brown as follows:
"In 1816 Pistrucci was invited to submit designs
for this medal which it was intended to strike in gold and give to
the allied sovereigns, their ministers and generals. In August 1819,
Treasury authority was given for the work to begin on the
preparation of models. Unfortunately, due to a disagreement between
Pistrucci and the Master of the Mint over the office of Chief
Engraver, the work proceeded very slowly. Pistrucci felt that that
office which had been given to William Wyon (who had been performing
those duties for some time) should have gone to him. Pistrucci held
the office of Chief Medallist to the King for which he received a
salary of £300 a year plus another £50 for the instruction of a
pupil, but nevertheless felt disgruntled at not being given the more
senior position. In 1832 Lord Auckland, the then Master of the Mint,
remonstrated with Pistrucci over the delay in producing the medal
and Pistrucci requested an assurance that if he completed the medal
his connections with the Mint would not be terminated. Lord Auckland
would not give such an undertaking and once more the work lapsed. To
make matters worse, the additional £50 that Pistrucci had been
receiving as part of his salary, was withdrawn. Further queries were
raised with Pistrucci in 1842, but again, arguments over the matter
of salary delayed work. It was not until August 1844 that agreement
over the salary was reached whereby it was raised from £300 to £350
a year and work upon the medal was resumed. In 1849, the Master of
the Mint was able to report that the dies were complete, but by this
time each of the four allied sovereigns depicted on the obverse (and
no doubt many of the other intended recipients of the medal) were
dead.
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"Because of the difficulty of
hardening dies of the size required to strike the medal, Pistrucci
made each die in two parts, an outer ring which fitted around a
central die of 71mm. diameter. Each of these was to be hardened
separately. Despite his suggestions, the dies were never hardened
and only gutta-percha impressions and electrotypes were made. These
sometimes occur joined together and the gutta-percha impressions are
found in a black japanned metal case. The wax model for the medal is
in the Mint Museum in Rome and the dies are in the Royal Mint
Museum, London.
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"N.B. Hocking (Royal Mint
Catalogue, vol. II, p. 208) states that the commission for the
medal was given to Pistrucci, no suitable designs having been
received from members of the Royal Academy. Graham Pollard has
pointed out that the design by Flaxman was certainly completed
because the diarist Farington records having seen it on 15 August
1815. (See Royal Academy exhibition catalogue John Flaxman
RA. ed. D. Bindman, London, 1979, p. 135 and no.169.) Designs by
West are published in R. S. Kraemer, Drawings by Benjamin West,
New York, 1975, nos. 101-103, and drawings by Stothard are in the
Victoria and Albert Museum (Dyce nos. 850-852).
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"In 1967 Messrs John Pinches Ltd.,
produced a number of copies of this medal in 22ct. gold, platinum
and sterling silver. The size of these copies is 64mm and each of
them is reputed to be either numbered or hallmarked."
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from British Historical
Medals, Volume 1, p. 208-212
Benedetto Pistrucci, a British medallist of
Italian extraction, spent some thirty years making medals in
commemoration of the victories of Europe's combined forces over
Napoleon. Gold examples were to be presented to the four allied
monarchs and two silver examples to Field Marshal Blucher and the
Duke of Wellington. Due to his many other commissions Pistrucci
was only able to finish engraving the dies in 1849, by which time
all those for whom the medal was intended, with the exception of
Wellington, had already died. The Waterloo medal is considered one
of the rarest and most important pieces in the history of medallic
art.
LINK to article on the
Waterloo Medal by
Isaac Myer (from Goggle Books)
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