HORNREICH COLLECTION of Award Medals
France Bz Plaquette, Work Conquers All, Kautsch for Bertrand, 1925
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Coin Details
| Origin/Country: |
France Paris 1925 |
| Design Description: |
Allegorical Females with Smith, Labor Improbus Omnia Vincit Bz Award Plaquette Heinrich Kautsch for Bertrand |
| Item Description: |
Bronze 1925 France Bz Plaquette Kautsch/Bertrand France 1925 Allegorical Scene Praising Work France Bz Plaquette Kautsch for Bertrand |
| Full Grade: |
MS 63 |
| Owner: |
Spencer Collection |
Owner Comments:
Medal, Plaquette, c1925, Bronze, France. LABOR IMPROBUS OMNIA VINCIT (Work Conquers All). Medal Art Nouveau. Medallist, Heinrich Kautsch for Artus Bertrand, signed Bertrand. Size: 68mm x 45mm. Weight: 78 Grams. Award Medal Plaquette. Obv. Allegorical Females with Smith, Legend below. Signature of Bertrand below Hammer; Rv. Award Floral, Unawarded, letter A.B. (for Artus Bertrand). Additional information: Labor omnia vincit is a Latin phrase meaning "Work conquers all". The phrase is adapted from Virgil's Georgics, Book I, line 145-6: ...Labor omnia vicit / improbus ("Steady work overcame all things"). The poem was written in support of Augustus Caesar's "Back to the land" policy, aimed at encouraging more Romans to become farmers.
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ENGRAVER : Heinrich Kautsch (1859-1943) – one of the great Bohemian engravers of the Art Nouveau movement (he was born in Prague). He was the son of a Goldsmith and first studied at the Goldsmith School in Prague. Kautsch went on to study at the Industrial Arts School in Vienna where he was pupil to Schwarz and Koenig. In 1882 he was selected for the position of professor at the School of Decorative Arts in Prague. In 1889 he moved to Paris where he stayed until the 1914. At the Paris Exposition Universelle 1900 he was awarded a silver medal. He specialized in the rectangular plaque form (like this Medal), as revived by Oscar Roty back in 1879. Kautsch was made Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur and Knight of the Order of Franz Joseph. Many of his medals can be seen in the Luxembourg Museum in Paris. MINTMARK(S) : Arthus Bertrand “triangle” + “BRONZE”. Purchased in Belgium.