Prize Medal for Cotton from the Crystal Palace Exhibition, London, (awarded to Dr. Samuel Bond), 1851

  • Creator: Leonard C. Wyon
  • Title: Prize Medal for Cotton from the Crystal Palace Exhibition, London, (awarded to Dr. Samuel Bond), 1851
  • Date: 1851
  • Description: This is the reverse side of this round bronze medal. It shows what appears to be a toga-clad Roman emperor placing a wreath on the head of a kneeling young woman, while four other women (perhaps representing virtues) stand behind her. The inscription: DISSOCIATA LOCIS CONCORDI PACE LIGAVIT appears at top, "Leonard C. Wyon" at bottom, "S.Bond" on edge.
  • Historical Note: This medal, designed by artist Leonard Charles Wyon (1826-1891), was awarded to Dr. Samuel Bond, a Memphis cotton producer, who, along with nine other Americans, including fellow Memphian John Pope, won prize medals in the category of "Vegetable and Animal Substances Chiefly Used in Manufactures" at the 1851 world's industrial fair held at the Crystal Palace in London. A commentary in the official catalogue of the exposition noted that all of the cotton on display came from countries other than Great Britain, and that the English writer hoped that soon "encouragement given to the growth of cotton in our Indian and colonial possessions shall enable us to dispense with the slave-grown cotton of America." Reference: The Illustrated Exhibitor, A Tribute to the World's Industrial Jubilee (London: John Cassell, 1851), p. 485. The inscription can be roughly translated: "It has bound together in peace and friendship things widely separated" appears to be a motto for the exposition.
  • Institution: Memphis Brooks Musuem of Art, Memphis,TN; A Gift to the Citizens of Memphis and Shelby County from the Bond Family
  • Publisher: Digital Initiatives, James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University
  • Rights: Images reproduced on this website are intended for individual, educational use only. For research inquiries about specific objects or requests for high resolution images, contact the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.
  • URL: http://cdm15838.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/shades
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