REVIEW: THE SILICH COLLECTION OF HISTORICAL AND ART MEDALS: 11 MARCH

Yet again the exceptional collection of historical and art medals formed by the late David Silich has proved its importance at auction, with many records set. It also maintained the unbroken record in this series as another auction that was 100% sold.

Leading the way was a silver personal award medal of Prince Albert dating to 1845 by the eminent medallist William Wyon (1795-1851). Showing the bust of the Prince right this very rare medal has a reverse that depicts St George and dragon. Brilliant and virtually as struck, it left an estimate of £800-1,000 far behind to sell for £12,000.

Great Classical Trivialties was a series of cast bronze medal created by the late artist and caricaturist Ronald Searle (1920-2011). Created as a satirical art medal for the British Art Medal Society in 1986, his Cannibal Medal in 1986 shows a tongue pointing through the teeth of an open mouth, the reverse showing the mouth closed, with the tongue protruding from teeth to lick the upper lip, with teeth marks surrounding a piece of the medal ‘bitten off’. Signed top left and from an edition of 21, this extremely fine and very rare piece had a guide of £80-100, but sold for £2,200.

Other highlights demonstrated the broad range of interest in this collection, starting with a bitterly satirical take on the conflict between Germany and Russia during the Great War by the German artist and engraver Walter Eberbach (1866-1944). Väterchen Sorgt für die Seinen [The Little Father Cares for his People], from 1916, is a cast iron medal showing the skeletal figure of Death wearing a Russian cap, holding sickle a sickle as he bestrides a crowd against the backdrop of a battlefield. The reverse carries the legend Dem Friedensczar Nicolaus II v Russland [To the Czar of Peace…] within a pentagonal cartridge formed of bones. At 68mm in diameter, this is a powerful piece of anti-war propaganda. Extremely fine and rare, it had a guide of £400-500 but went as far as £2,000.

A c.1930, an Art Déco electrotype bronze plaque by Édouard-Pierre Blin (1877-1946) of Le rêve d’Icare [The Dream of Icarus] is dominated to the obverse by a bust of Icarus to left, the reverse showing launching himself off a cliff over the sea, with clouds and lightning in the background. This superbly powerful sizeable piece (121 x 103mm) is extremely fine and patinated, and very rare. Pitched at £150-200, it took £1,300.

One of the most striking medals visually celebrates the early days flight, specifically the 1912-13 Meeting of Hydroplanes in Monaco. Designed and created by the Hungarian medallist and sculptor Antal Szirmaï, the silver award medal shows the elevation of the Casino to the obverse and a winged allegory floating to the left with a biplane above and hydroplane below. A tablet at left names M.J. Seneron, Directeur S.B.M. Very fine and rare, it flew well above its £150-200 estimate to sell for £1,200.