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Description: | 852 Working model Air Force Cross E.Carter Preston Liverpool
whole: cross, ornate, its arms conjoined by wings (cross in the form of a thunderbolt - its arms broaden from the centre
and terminate in barbed arrowheads)
design : Hermes, standing facing right, on the back of a hawk in flight. He holds a laurel wreath in his extended right hand and a caduceus
in his left. The whole within a roundel at the centre of a cross in the form of aeroplane propellers. The propeller cross, the ends of
which are adorned with embossed components of the GVRI cypher, is superimposed upon the principal "thunderbolt" cross whose arms are
conjoined by wings, the lower vertical arm terminating in a bomb motif, the upper vertical arm surmounted by a crown
suspender : whole: straight bar with laurelled supports
Preparatory study in plaster, with some later modelling especially of edges, by Edward Carter Preston (1885-1965) for
the design of the Air Force Cross - a gallantry award for the RAF. Carter Preston's model was ultimately chosen as the basis for medal
production (1918). The complex imagery of the design is said to have been deeply influenced by the style and iconography of Greek coins of
the classical period, and Carter Preston's employment of classical motifs and allusion was in part inspired by the encouragement of G F
Hill (Keeper of the Coins and Medals Department at the British Museum, who later, 1922, became a member of the Royal Mint's Advisory
Committee).
Design submissions in plaster were considered far more useful than drawings. The plaster model was more versatile insomuch that it could be
photographed and reduced to the actual medal size. This is one of five medallion plasters by Edward Carter Preston held by the Department
of Art, see also MEDP/3, MEDP/22 and MEDP/24-25
For a full description of this gallantry award and documentation details see catalogue record OMD/198 (British Orders, Medals and
Decorations) held by the Department of Exhibits and Firearms. | Publisher: | http://www.iwm.org.uk | Subjects: | Royal Air Force medals / orders / decorations commemorative | Source: | Imperial War Museum | Creator: | Carter Preston, Edward | Identifier: | http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/o... | Go to resource |
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