The Peace of Amiens. 1802.

Art Historical Context

Behold *The Peace of Amiens, 1802*, a gilt bronze medal struck at the Paris Mint, celebrating the short-lived Treaty of Amiens that temporarily halted hostilities between Napoleonic France and Britain after the War of the Second. Measuring just 2 inches in diameter, this delicate plaquette captures a pivotal moment of European diplomacy in 1802, when peace seemed possible amid revolutionary fervor. Such commemorative medals were popular in France, blending artistry with propaganda to immortalize political triumphs. Crafted by engraver Rambert Dumarest under the direction of Baron Dominique Vivant Denon—Napoleon's influential museum director and Mint overseer—the piece exemplifies early 19th-century French neoclassicism in miniature. The gilt bronze medium, achieved by striking a bronze planchet and applying a thin gold layer, lent it a luxurious sheen befitting official events. Denon's role highlights how medals served as portable symbols of state power, merging sculpture's precision with numismatic tradition. Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Sculpture and Decorative Arts collection, this gem was a gift from U.S. Vice President Levi P. Morton in 1885. It invites visitors to ponder the fragility of peace—lasting only a year before war resumed—while admiring the medal's enduring craftsmanship.