Object Number 1978.0113 A

Object Name

Medal (Presentation medal)

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Museum purchase

Creator (Role)

Marquand & Brothers (Maker)

Frederick Marquand (Maker)
1799-1882
As per Darling, New York State Silversmiths, pp. 122-123: Frederick Marquand, Isaac Marquand, and Josiah Marquand are all brothers. (L. Clouser, cataloguer, 03/04/2011)

Thomas J. Brown (Designer)

Place of Origin

New York, New York, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America

Date

1832-1832

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Inscription; Top surface, center, on small shield; "NG" engraved in script
2. Inscription; Top surface, on banner; "PRO*PATRIA*ET*GLORIA" in capital letters
3. Inscription; Underside; "THE National Guard, 27th New York State Artillery, TO La Fayette Centennial Anniversary of the Birth Day of Washington New York 22nd February 1832"
4. Inscription; Top surface, proper left, on flag; "NG" engraved in script
5. Inscription; Top surface, on hemisphere; "N. AMERICA" / "FRANCE" engraved in capital letters

Subjects

Lafayette; George Washington; Military; Revolutionary War

Materials

Gold

Techniques

Cast, Wrought, Engraved

Dimensions (inches)

6.37 (H) , 4.62 (W) , 0.43 (D)

Dimensions (centimeters)

16.19 (H) , 11.75 (W) , 1.11 (D)

Measurement Notes

Weight: 7.5 oz troy. Weight recorded in 1833 was 157 pennyweights [7.85 ounces troy] Spectrographic analysis: Obverse: gold 71.3%, silver 16.7%, copper 12.0%; Reverse: gold 81.6%, silver 10.6%, copper 7.8%.

Object Description

Web - 10/30/2017

This weighty gold presentation medal is laden with symbolic images and a detailed inscription to commemorate the role of an honor guard -- a volunteer militia, specifically the 2nd Battalion of the 11th Regiment of the New York State Artillery -- in guarding George Washington's campaign tent while displayed at City Hall on February 22, 1832 (100th anniversary of George Washington's birth). The medal unites engraved portrait medallions of Washington and LaFayette beneath the American federal eagle standing on a globe engraved "N./ AMERICA" and "FRANCE" and surrounds them with a wreath of oak and laurel boughs and military trophies. One flag is engraved "NG" for National Guard and their motto Pro Patria et Gloria is engraved in a banner beneath the quartered shield. The opposite side bears a dedication to LaFayette and has two circular suspension loops mounted near the top. The medal's hinged and fitted red leather case lined with blue and white silk also survives.
The impressive award cost officers in the honor guard $330.00 and one contemporary account (The New-York Mirror, April 27, 1833) described the gold as "from the mines of North Carolina." It was displayed locally first before being sent to James Fenimore Cooper in Lyon, France where he was the American consul. Cooper hosted a dinner party for Lafayette and others in Paris on November 21, 1832 and ceremoniously presented the medal with the letter from the National Guard signed by Colonel L.W. Stevens, Lt. Colonel M.L. Smith, and Major J. M. Catlin. [See: D. Fennimore, "A solid gold testimonial: an American medal for Lafayette," in The Magazine Antiques, Feb. 1980, 426-430].

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Voorsanger, Catherine Hoover & Howat, John K. 2000 Art and the Empire City: New York, 1825-1861.
• Published: p. 562, no. 287.
[Book] Idzerda, Stanley J, et al. 1989 Lafayette, Hero of Two Worlds: The Art and Pageantry of His Farewell Tour of America, 1824-1825. 201.
• Published: p. 81, no. 77.
[Book] Quimby, Ian M. G. 1995 American Silver at Winterthur.
• Published: p. 265-66, no. 227
[Article] Fennimore, Donald L. 1980 A solid gold testimonial: an American medal for Lafayette. Antiques. 117 (2): 5.
• Published: on cover and pp. 426-27, pls. I-II.
[Book] Belden, Louise C. 1980 Marks of American Silversmiths in the Ineson-Bissell Collection. 506 p.
• Example marks, brief background information, sources, p. 287
[Book] McGrew, John R. 2004 Manufacturers' Marks on American Coin Silver. 176.
• Example of mark, working 1820/23-1824/29: p. 30
[Book] Quimby, Ian M. G. 1995 American Silver at Winterthur.
• Short biography on Frederick Marquand: p. 264
[Book] Rainwater, Dorothy T. & Redfield, Judy. 1998 Encyclopedia of American Silver Manufacturers. 418 p.
• Marquand's work history: p. 206
[Journal] New York Mirror.
• Published: vol. X, April 27, 1833, no. 43, p. 1.
[Article] Hollan, Catherine B. 01//2007 Of the Latest Style: Silver at MESDA. Antiques. CLXXI (1)
• Published: p.196, fig. 6a, 6b.
[Article] Jones, Karen M. 07//1980 Collectors Notes. Antiques. CXVII (1): 149.
• Published: Vol. 1, p. 197.
[Book] Clark, Emmons. 1890 History of the Seventh Regiment of New York, 1806-1889. 1. 196-200.
•