Stack's Bowers & Ponterio
Collector's Choice Apr 2020 Auction 22 Apr 2020
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WORLD WAR I MEDALS. France - Germany. "What is That? It is the Night" Bronze Plaque, 1915. Paris Mint. CHOICE ALMOST UNCIRCULATED.
The Art of Devastation-45. 80x60mm. By Leon Chavalliaud. Obverse: Marianne (personification of France) and personification of Justice flying right, pursuing Kaiser Wilhelm II, who tramples upon fallen French family; in background, Reims Cathedral engulfed in flames; Reverse: Marianne (as the Dawn) looming over the horizon, sowing seeds; Place Royal at Reims in foreground. Mostly even brown surfaces, with a few light marks on the obverse.
The Art of Devastation-45. 80x60mm. By Leon Chavalliaud. Obverse: Marianne (personification of France) and personification of Justice flying right, pursuing Kaiser Wilhelm II, who tramples upon fallen French family; in background, Reims Cathedral engulfed in flames; Reverse: Marianne (as the Dawn) looming over the horizon, sowing seeds; Place Royal at Reims in foreground. Mostly even brown surfaces, with a few light marks on the obverse.
The quote by Victor Hugo on the obverse and reverse of this piece, dating to 1871, references the loss by the French in the Franco-Prussian War. With the fighting back by the French against Germany during World War I, the capitulation from the past is seen to be avenged.
From the Richard Jewell Collection.
Estimate: $60.00- $100.00