Esseö, Elisabeth (Erzsébet) von. 1916.
PATRONA ∙ HVNGARIÆ — ORA ∙ PRO ∙ NOBIS ∙ 1916 (Benefactress of Hungary - pray for us. 1916). Cast iron, lightly blackened, 58 mm, 42.56 g. Vorzüglich (extremely fine). Rare.
Description translated from Huszár / Procopius (see citation below):
O[bverse]: Head of the Mother of God, to right, with veil-covered hair, the periphery of the medal forming the halo.
R[everse]: PATRONA ∙ HVNGARIAE — ORA ∙ PRO ∙ NOBIS ∙ 1916. Over the entire field a large cross, in form like that of an order, upon which the Hungarian arms with the holy Crown of St Stephen. Lower left [sic]: ESSŐ E.Dm. 58, cast double-sided round medal. Kriegsmetall, 1916. Collection Procopius.
Cf: Schulman. 1919. La Guerre Européenne, Catalogue LXXIII, p. 78: 767.
Cf: Frankenhuis, M. 1919(?). Catalogue of Medals - Medalets and Plaques relative to the World War 1914 - 1919, p. 55: 399 (described as "Patron" of Hungary).
Cf: Huszár, Lajos, and Béla Procopius. 1932. Medaillen- und Plakettenkunst in Ungarn, p. 199: no. 1920 (Kriegsmetall example).Listed as one of the earliest of Esseö's designs by H/P, it bears the Hungarian form of her signature with the family name preceding her first initial, the Hungarian ő rather than the German ö used later. Apparently made before her adoption of the distinctive monogram, encircled ƎE, found on most of her oeuvre.
Kriegsmetall (war-metal) was a general term for non-standard alloys used for casting in lieu of restricted bronze or, perhaps in some instances iron, although the latter was frequently used for wartime medals.
