On the obverse of this plaquette Verlet portrays a monumental figure of grief. The woman holds a tablet inscribed with the name of the deceased, her body enveloped in voluminous sweeping folds—Verlet even depicts the veil covering her face. It is a powerful figure, made moreso by the large size of the plaquette. Through plant symbolism, Verlet conveys on the reverse the expression of both love and admiration by the Caisse des Victimes du Devoir (Bank for Victims of Dutiful Service) for the deceased: a branch of roses and a palm branch, the traditional symbol of martyrdom. The plaquette was awarded to Joseph Rossel, a firefighter in Montbéliard, a town in eastern France near the border with Switzerland. He was quite a local hero—he was awarded a medal for courage and dedication to duty in 1901—and a street in the town is named for him. This is an especially rare design—it is the only specimen I’ve come across in decades of collecting.

 

Raoul Verlet was a highly successful French sculptor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century who specialized in portraits and bronze statuettes. His medal and plaquette designs are comparatively rare.  Scarce.

 

This medal will appeal to collectors interested in the history of banking, firefighting, and in public service.

 

Extremely fine. Nice medium brown patina. See pictures.

 

Artist: Raoul Verlet (1857-1923)

Title: Caisse des Victimes du Devoir (Bank for Victims of Dutiful Service) (c. 1910)

Material: bronze

Size: 90 x 69 mm

Weight: 232 gr

Inscriptions:

Obverse: À M. JOSEPH ROSSEL/ LIEUTENANT DES SAPEURS-POMPIERS/ DE MONTBÉLIARD; signed R. Verlet

Reverse: HOMMAGE/ DE LA/ CAISSE DES VICTIMES/ DU/ DEVOIR

Edge: Cornucopia, BRONZE

Mint: Monnaie de Paris

Reference: On the artist, see Leonard Forrer, Biographical Dictionary of Medallists, vol. 6, p. 222

 

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In the coming weeks I will be listing many Art Nouveau and Art Deco medals and plaquettes, from France, Belgium and Austria, which I have collected over the past twenty years. They are by the leading medalists of the period, and many are rare.