Arnold (Aharon) Zadikow. 1915.
"Der Tod läßt Luftschiffe fliegen" (Death releases airships). Single-sided hollow-cast iron, lightly blackened, delicately oxidized patina, reverse roughly filled in, 73.87 mm, 93.03 g. Fast gussfrisch (near as-cast). Exceptionally rare.
Death as animate, desiccated cadaver wearing only shorts, seated at left on mountainous landscape, hands manipulating control lines to two dirigibles and an observation balloon at right; year date ･ 1915 ･ in exergue; artist's monogram encircled, interlaced AZ lower left; raised rim.
Cf: Bernhart, Max. 1917. Die Münchener Medaillenkunst der Gegenwart, pl. 64, no. 418.
Cf: Frankenhuis, M. 1919(?). Catalogue of Medals - Medalets and Plaques Relative to the World War 1914 - 1919, p. 100: 777.
Cf: Jones, M. 1979. The Dance of Death: Medallic Art of the First World War, p. 21: no. 32 (iron example).
Cf: Kaiser, Hans. 1998. Medaillen, Plaketten, Abzeichen der deutschen Luftfahrt. Strothotte, p. 116: no. 418 (iron example, medallist only identified as AZ).
Cf: Klose, Dietrich O. A. 2016. Europas Verderben 1914 1918: Deutsche und österreichische Medaillen auf den Ersten Weltkrieg, p. 272: 22.18 (bronze example).Zadikow designed seven single-sided (uniface) medals cast in iron and/or bronze in his "Totentanz" series.
