Description
France 1918 (World War I) Souvenir of the Deliverance of Metz 44.9mm Bronze Medal 38.47 grams
Medal given by the City of Metz to its liberators, 1918
Obverse: helmeted, laureate France, holding a flag, crushing an imperial eagle, welcomes the City of Metz into her arms; in the background, the cathedral of Metz, EN SOUVENIR DE LA DELIVERANCE DE METZ / E. HANNAUX (trans.: "IN MEMORY OF DELIVERANCE FROM METZ)
Reverse: shield with the arms of the city of Metz, placed on ivy. METZ A SES LIBERATEURS 19 NOVEMBRE 1918
Edge: Cornucopia privy mark (Paris Mint) BRONZE
Emmanuel Hannaux (1855-1934) French sculptor born at Metz in 1855. He began to study at the industrial school at Strasburg, but returned to Metz on the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870. Wishing to remain in France, he then went to Nancy, where he continued his studies at the Ecole de Modelage et de Sculpture, supporting himself by carving pipes. Going to Paris in 1876, he was admitted to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, entering the classes of Dumont, Thomas, and Bonassieux. At the Salon of 1889 Hannaux was awarded a third medal for his "Le Bûcheron"; in the same year he received a second medal for his patriotic group "Le Drapeau.
In 1900 Hannaux was made a chevalier of the Legion of Honor. He was commissioned to execute the bas-reliefs for the Château d'Eau at the exposition of that year. In the Salon of 1903 Hannaùx received the "Médaille d'Honneur."
