Author Topic: Demeter Konyovics  (Read 7694 times)

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  • Esseö, Elisabeth (Erzsébet) von.  1917 

    ・DEMETRIVS・KONYOVICS・ÆT・S・XXIX (Demetrius Konyovics aetatis suae XXIX - in the year of his age 29).  Blackened cast iron; 55.6 mm, 55.85 g; fast gussfrisch (near as-cast).  Rare.

    Obverse: Profile of aviator in uniform collar to left, title legend surrounding edge, small float-biplane beneath portrait; artist's monogram, encircled ligatured ƎE mid-right. 

    Reverse: Heraldic rampant griffin to left, lightning bolts shooting from front claws; legend surrounding upper edge SIC ・ ITVR ・ -- AD・ -- ASTRA (thus one goes to the stars, i.e. such is the way to immortality); legend lower edge A・D ★ 1917・; artist's monogram beneath image.

    Cf Schulman.  1919.  La Guerre Européenne, Catalogue LXXV, p. 97: 892.
    Cf  Huszár, Lajos, and Béla Procopius. 1932. Medaillen- und Plakettenkunst in Ungarn, p. 199: 1925; plate XXVIII (example in Kriegsmetall).


    Demeter Konjović (also Konyovics, Konjovits, etc.) was a renowned flying boat pilot of the K u. K (i.e. Austro-Hungarian) Navy in the Adriatic.  Some German propaganda art mistakenly depicted him piloting float-planes, hence the inaccurate aircraft image on this medal.  Perhaps the hybrid nature of the griffin reflects the hybrid nature of seaplanes.

Demeter Konyovics
« on: December 13, 2019, 04:43:09 PM »

Esseö, Elisabeth (Erzsébet) von.  1917 

・DEMETRIVS・KONYOVICS・ÆT・S・XXIX (Demetrius Konyovics aetatis suae XXIX - in the year of his age 29).  Blackened cast iron; 55.6 mm, 55.85 g; fast gussfrisch (near as-cast).  Rare.

Obverse: Profile of aviator in uniform collar to left, title legend surrounding edge, small float-biplane beneath portrait; artist's monogram, encircled ligatured ƎE mid-right. 

Reverse: Heraldic rampant griffin to left, lightning bolts shooting from front claws; legend surrounding upper edge SIC ・ ITVR ・ -- AD・ -- ASTRA (thus one goes to the stars, i.e. such is the way to immortality); legend lower edge A・D ★ 1917・; artist's monogram beneath image.

Cf Schulman.  1919.  La Guerre Européenne, Catalogue LXXV, p. 97: 892.
Cf  Huszár, Lajos, and Béla Procopius. 1932. Medaillen- und Plakettenkunst in Ungarn, p. 199: 1925; plate XXVIII (example in Kriegsmetall).


Demeter Konjović (also Konyovics, Konjovits, etc.) was a renowned flying boat pilot of the K u. K (i.e. Austro-Hungarian) Navy in the Adriatic.  Some German propaganda art mistakenly depicted him piloting float-planes, hence the inaccurate aircraft image on this medal.  Perhaps the hybrid nature of the griffin reflects the hybrid nature of seaplanes.

« Last Edit: December 13, 2019, 11:00:22 PM by Haarmann »