Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 48 24 Sep 2020
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Commemorative Medals, Daniel Maclise (1806–1870), gilt-silver medal of the Art Union of London, 1878, by A. B. Wyon, bust l., rev. detail from Maclise's large 1842 painting, 'The Play Scene in Hamlet', the edge engraved, "D.M. TO HIS ESTEEMED FRIEND W. J. AINSWORTH", with punch-marks to start and end (perhaps to obliterate date), 55mm. (BHM.3047; Beaulah 25), the gilding a little worn, very fine and unusual
The Maclise medal is very rare in silver, the Art Union allotted just 30 specimens in 1878. The edge inscription is something of a mystery. Supposing the 'D.M.' to be for Maclise, he had been dead for eight years when the medal was issued. The recipient, too, is a puzzle. Maclise had been friendly with the author William Harrison Ainsworth (1805-1882), but the cataloguers can find no connection with a 'W. J.'. 'The Play Scene in 'Hamlet' is now in the collection of the Tate Gallery, London.
(120-160 GBP)
The Maclise medal is very rare in silver, the Art Union allotted just 30 specimens in 1878. The edge inscription is something of a mystery. Supposing the 'D.M.' to be for Maclise, he had been dead for eight years when the medal was issued. The recipient, too, is a puzzle. Maclise had been friendly with the author William Harrison Ainsworth (1805-1882), but the cataloguers can find no connection with a 'W. J.'. 'The Play Scene in 'Hamlet' is now in the collection of the Tate Gallery, London.
(120-160 GBP)