Author Topic: World War / Peace  (Read 16920 times)

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  • Gergely Szántó (Hungarian: Szántó Gergely).  1920 

    ・1914 — VILÁGHÁBORÚ ・ 1918 ∙ (obv) / ・BĒKE・ ——— ・1920・ (rev) (1914 World War 1918 / Peace 1920).  Cast bronze, 64.5 mm, 99.0 g.  Vorzüglich (extremely fine), a few minor rim nicks.  Very rare.

    Obverse:  War-fury (Kriegsfurie), personified as a naked, emaciated woman with pendulous breasts and bat-wings, striding from left to right, hair streaming, grasping left hand thrust forward, right hand brandishing  short-bladed fiery sword; title legend around lower edge;  artist's signature ・SZÁNTÓ・G・ lower right; raised rim. 

    Reverse: On a ground-line, blindfolded young woman draped in shroud-like garment hesitantly gropes her way from right to left, feeling her way with palm frond in her right hand; title legend left center and right center, respectively; artist's monogram, encircled interlaced S G, in exergue.

    Cf:  Huszár, Lajos, and Béla Procopius. 1932. Medaillen- und Plakettenkunst in Ungarn, p. 385: 4987; plate XLVIII.  Ten examples listed as having been cast.

    War-furies carrying flaming swords and/or burning torches are often represented in Middle-European art, including medals, around the time of the First World War (e.g. Götze - "War-Fury over Verdun).  The palm frond on the reverse symbolizes resurrection and peace.

    In the dictated Peace of Trianon (1920) Hungary lost nearly three-fourths of its pre-war territory, two-thirds of its population, and five of its ten largest cities.  Little wonder that Peace appears to have an uncertain future after the terrible casualties of a devastating war fueled initially by grasping nationalism and optimistic war-fever.

World War / Peace
« on: December 14, 2019, 10:44:21 AM »

Gergely Szántó (Hungarian: Szántó Gergely).  1920 

・1914 — VILÁGHÁBORÚ ・ 1918 ∙ (obv) / ・BĒKE・ ——— ・1920・ (rev) (1914 World War 1918 / Peace 1920).  Cast bronze, 64.5 mm, 99.0 g.  Vorzüglich (extremely fine), a few minor rim nicks.  Very rare.

Obverse:  War-fury (Kriegsfurie), personified as a naked, emaciated woman with pendulous breasts and bat-wings, striding from left to right, hair streaming, grasping left hand thrust forward, right hand brandishing  short-bladed fiery sword; title legend around lower edge;  artist's signature ・SZÁNTÓ・G・ lower right; raised rim. 

Reverse: On a ground-line, blindfolded young woman draped in shroud-like garment hesitantly gropes her way from right to left, feeling her way with palm frond in her right hand; title legend left center and right center, respectively; artist's monogram, encircled interlaced S G, in exergue.

Cf:  Huszár, Lajos, and Béla Procopius. 1932. Medaillen- und Plakettenkunst in Ungarn, p. 385: 4987; plate XLVIII.  Ten examples listed as having been cast.

War-furies carrying flaming swords and/or burning torches are often represented in Middle-European art, including medals, around the time of the First World War (e.g. Götze - "War-Fury over Verdun).  The palm frond on the reverse symbolizes resurrection and peace.

In the dictated Peace of Trianon (1920) Hungary lost nearly three-fourths of its pre-war territory, two-thirds of its population, and five of its ten largest cities.  Little wonder that Peace appears to have an uncertain future after the terrible casualties of a devastating war fueled initially by grasping nationalism and optimistic war-fever.

« Last Edit: December 14, 2019, 01:44:52 PM by Haarmann »