Thorp Seminary Award [reverse]
c. 1800, inscribed 1809
Medium
silver
Dimensions
overall (diameter): 5.32 cm (2 1/8 in.) gross weight: 53.26 gr (0.117 lb.) axis: 12:00
Classification
Sculpture
Department
CSD
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Lisa and Leonard Baskin
Accession Number
1999.109.8.b
Art Historical Context
This exquisite silver medallion, titled *Thorp Seminary Award [reverse]*, hails from Britain around 1800 and bears an inscription dated 1809. Crafted by an anonymous 19th-century artist, it served as a prestigious award from Thorp Seminary, likely recognizing academic or moral excellence among students at this educational institution. With a modest diameter of just 5.32 cm (2 1/8 in.) and a weight of 53.26 grams, its intimate scale belies its cultural weight as a tangible symbol of achievement in an era when such medals motivated young scholars, particularly in girls' seminaries common in earl...
About the Artist
British 19th Century
"British 19th Century" is an attribution designation employed by museums and auction houses to classify paintings, watercolors, drawings, photographs, and decorative objects produced in Britain during the 1800s when the identity of the specific artist has not been established. Like similar geographic and period designations used across the field of art history, it communicates what can be confirme...