Prince Albert, President of the Royal Commission for the Great Exhibition
1851
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
Diameter: 1 3/4 in. (44 mm)
Classification
Medals and Plaquettes
Culture
British
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Assunta Sommella Peluso, Ada Peluso, and Romano I. Peluso, in memory of Ignazio Peluso, 2000
Accession Number
2000.323.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
This bronze medal, crafted by William Wyon in 1851, commemorates Prince Albert’s leadership as president of the Royal Commission for the Great Exhibition. Wyon, chief engraver at Britain’s Royal Mint, was renowned for his precise neoclassical portraits on coins and medals. The small-scale work, just 1¾ inches in diameter, captures Albert in profile, surrounded by symbolic elements such as globes and birds that evoke themes of global progress and peace. The Great Exhibition, held in London’s Crystal Palace that same year, was the first international world’s fair, celebrating industry, technolo...
About the Artist
William Wyon · 1795–1851
British, Birmingham 1795–1851 Brighton