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Description: | obverse design : shield, bearing a leering skull, surmounted by a stylised crown, resting upon a bound laurel
wreath
obverse text : ".TRIVMPHVS.MORTIS.IN.BELLO.MCMXIV.XVIII."
reverse design : Death, in the form of a crowned skeleton, on horseback riding to right, holding a scythe in his right hand and gripping
the horse's mane with his left. The jaded horse wears a bell around its neck and picks its way over a ground of skulls and writhing
serpents
In this disturbing medal of 1918 Elizabeth von Esseö laments the continuing supremacy of the power of Death as the
inevitable consequence of the world-wide war. The obverse Latin text is translated as 'The triumph of death in war 1914-18'. The bizarrre
and unrelenting imagery (offering no glimmer of hope) may be seen as a reaction to the unprecedented numbers of casualties (both military
and civilian) which stemmed from the First World War and the piece may be viewed as representative of the artist's efforts to re-work the
well-established iconography of the 'Dance of Death' (see also MED 711). The imagery also unconsciously anticipates the terrible death
rates associated with the influenza pandemic of 1918-19. | Publisher: | http://www.iwm.org.uk | Subjects: | Death satirical First World War | Source: | Imperial War Museum | Creator: | Esseö, Elizabeth von | Identifier: | http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/o... | Go to resource |
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Victory
BRONZE
whole: rectangle with rounded…
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