Images(2)

Alsace Headdress Medal

Period1916

MediumBronze

Dimensions2.5 × 1.88 × 0.13 in. (6.4 × 4.8 × 0.3 cm)

SignedThe artist's signature "Ernesta Robert-Merignac" in cursive can be seen on the medal's obverse, running along the lower right edge of the panel.

ClassificationsThe Robert Hartshorne World War I Collection

Credit LineGift of Mary Minturn Adams in memory of her Hartshorne Ancestors, 2018

Object number2018.10.20.11

DescriptionA rectangular plaquette medal struck in bronze. On the obverse, a bust-length portrait of a woman wearing a large puffed headdress, facing left, with a kerchief draped over her shoulders, above the incription "ALSACIENNE." On the reverse, an image of the fortified citadel and the Lion of Belfort, including the sculpture's base inscription reading "AUX DEFENSEURS DE BELFORT 1870 - 1871." The cornucopia mark of the Paris Mint and "BRONZE" are stamped along the bottom rim edge of the medal.
Curatorial RemarksThis plaquette medal is one of in a series of "The Beautiful Headdresses of France," created by medallist and sculptor Ernesta Robert-Merignac. Ernestine Leonie Robert was born in France in 1849 and later changed her name to Ernesta. In 1886 she married fencer and fencing historian Lucien Merignac (1873 - 1941). Robert-Merignac died in 1933 in Paris. Her series included headdresses from such French regions as Auvergne, Boulogne, Brittany, Charente, and Lorraine. In her Alsace plaquette, Robert-Merignac depicts the Schlupfkapp from the Strasbourg area. This headdress, with its giant bow, became a symbol of the Alsace cultural region. On the medal's reverse is the formidable Citadel of Belfort. Built in the 13th century, the red sandstone citadel was modernized in the 17th century. The Lion of Belfort crouches beneath the Citadel. Designed by sculptor Frederic Bertholdi (1834 - 1904) of the same red sandstone, the Lion of Belfort was finished in 1880 and commemorates the French resistance during the Seige of Belfort from December of 1870 to February of 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War.NotesThis medal was collected by Robert Hartshorne during his service in the First World War. Hartshorne joined the American Red Cross in 1916. His association with that organization apparently put him in touch with the American Committee for Devastated France, which intended to introduce modern American farming methods in those battlefield areas heavily damaged near Rheims. Hartshorne arrived in France in May of 1918 and returned to the United States at the end of December the same year. Hartshorne collected numerous medals, uniform insignia, and souvenirs commemorating his time abroad. For a more complete biography of Robert Hartshorne, please see the portrait miniature of Robert Hartshorne (accession number 2018.10.9).

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