Description
ITALY Turin 1884 Italian General Exposition 37.66mm bronze medal 27.85 grams by P. Thermignon
Obverse: allegory of Italia seated to left with scepter and parchment, elbow resting on a map of Italy, next to a winged genius holding up a bundle, offering a laurel crown and having a lit flame on his head. In the exergue, between laurel branches, the emblems of Savoy and the city of Turin and, in the background, the two towers and arches of the main entrance to the event, at the Parco del Valentino, AL MERITO / P. THERMIGNON DISEGNÒ (Trans: To Merit)
Reverse: cartouche for engraving ESPOSIZIONE GENERALE ITALIANA IN TORINO1884 (Trans: ITALIAN GENERAL EXHIBITION IN TURIN 1884)
Pietro Thermignon, sculptor, engraver and medallist, born in Turin in 1819. Trained in a goldsmiths shop, studied at the Scuola Popolare and the Albertina Academy. Visited the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition where he learned the latest in coinage technologies. Died in 1901
This medal design was struck in different sizes in gold silver and bronze, both with loop for suspension and without.
