Medal of Captain O. H. Perry
1813–15
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
Diam. 2 5/16 in. (5.9 cm)
Classification
Medal
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William H. Huntington, 1883
Accession Number
83.2.371
Tags
About this artwork
Moritz Fürst's bronze medal commemorating Captain (later Commodore) Oliver Hazard Perry stands as one of the finest achievements in early American medallic art. Created between 1813 and 1815, this medal honors Perry's decisive victory at the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813, a turning point in the War of 1812 that secured American control of the Great Lakes. Fürst's design features Perry's portrait on the obverse, executed with crisp detail that captures the young commander's determined...
About the Artist
Moritz Fürst · 1782–1882
Moritz Fürst was a Hungarian-born engraver and medalist who became one of the most accomplished practitioners of his craft in the early United States. Born in Hungary in 1782, he acquired his technical training in European ateliers before emigrating to America, where he arrived in the early years of the nineteenth century and ultimately settled in Philadelphia — then the center of the young nation...