84 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[April 1, 1897. 



only eight years before Bodley's death in 1612, the medal 

 is much later. The material is lead. 



A series of beautiful portraits, produced in a peculiar 

 manner, were made in England in the reign of James I. 

 by Simon Passe, of Utrecht. These portraits have the 

 appearance of being engraved on thin silver plates ; but, 

 as a matter of fact, they are stamped from metal dies, as 

 is proved by the fact that several copies of the same 

 portrait exist which are line for line the same. It is not 

 unusual to find counters produced by the same process, 

 although in some cases each piece was separately engraved.* 



The reign of Charles I. saw the rise of some new artists, 

 notably Nicholas Briot and Thomas Eawlins. The work of 

 these artists, who were employed on the English coinage as 



CIIAEI.E3 I., by Beiot. 



well as in making medals, has been sufficiently discussed 

 in a previous article.! I'ut the fine portrait of Charles, 

 executed in 1G30 by Briot for the obverse of a medal 

 asserting the claims of England to the command of the 

 seas, can hardly bj passed over here (Fig. 3). Besides 

 what may be called the series of official medals, there were 

 produced during this reign an enormous number of badges 

 with portraits of the leaders of both parties ia the Civil 

 War. Thus we have (No. 9) a fiae memorial badge with 

 the likeness of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex (whose 

 name is on some specimens represented by the letters s X). 

 The reverse bears his arms and the date of his death (11th 

 September, 1616). Other badges of Essex were given as 

 military rewards ; and there are similar rewards bearing 

 portraits of Fairfax, Sir William Waller, Prince Eupert, 

 and others. 



But most numerous are the Eoyalist badges which were 

 made and worn as memorials of Charles I. One of the 

 finest (the reverse of which represents Queen Henrietta 

 Maria) is that of which No. 10 illustrates the obverse, ani 

 which is from the hand of Thomas Rawlins. 



There exists a unique gold piece by Rawlins, which is 

 generallv reputed to have been presented by Charles I. to 

 Bishop .Jusou on the scaffold. This is, in reality, not a 

 medal, but a pattern for a five-broad piece. The work is 

 by no means of the highest order, and the enormous price 

 which the piece has fetched must be ascribed to its senti- 

 mental rather than to its artistic value. 



The series of medals illustrating the reign of Charles I. 

 may be closed with a fine and characteristic portrait of 



* Tlic nature cf Passe's work nr.fortuuiitelv piccIucJes the r pre- 

 sentation of any spccimfu of it in tlip accompanying plate. 

 + See Knowledge, October Ist, 1896, p. 218." 



Archbishop Laud (No. 7). The well-known medal com- 

 memorating this prelate's death, with the somewhat 

 ludicrous design of infant angels carrying to heaven his 

 mitre and crozier, and the crown, sceptre, and orb of 

 Charles I., is of later date, having been made by J. Roettier 

 after the Restoration. 



With the Commonwealth, the medallic art in England 

 comes to its culmination, to decline again but to 3 soon. 

 At this time there were working for tha Government the 

 brothers Abraham and Thomas Simon. The Simons 

 have been claimed as Englishmen — and, indeed, their 

 work may really be said to bear the national character 

 imprinted on it ; but their origin was probably French, 

 and can certainly be traced as far as Guernsey. Of the 

 two brothers, Thomas has the greater reputation ; but it 

 is stated on the best authority that the many portrait- 

 medals signed by Thomas are all from models made 

 by his brother. We have, however, a number of medals 

 signed by Abraham himself. As a specimen of the com- 

 bined work of the two brothers may be mentioned the fine 

 portrait (No. 8) of Bulstrode Whiteloek, Lord Keeper of 

 the Great Seal of England, Constable of Windsor Castle, 

 High Steward of Oxford, made in his forty-ninth year 

 (1053). Abraham's models were made in wax, and some 

 of them are still extant. 



This must suffice for an illustration of the style of 

 Thomas Simon in portraiture. Of his medals of a 

 difl'erent kind only a few can be mentioned. The 

 battle of Dunbar is commemorated on an oval piece 

 (No. 11), with a fine bust of Cromwell on the ob- 

 verse (legend : THE LORD OF HOSTS, word 



AT DVNBAR. SEPTEM Y. 3, 1350; signed T. SIMON F.)> 



and on the reverse a view of the Parliament assembled in 

 one house with the Speaker. This medal was struck for 

 distribution among the officers and soldiers of the army. 

 The brilliant services of the fleet against the Dutch ia 

 February, June, and July, 1653, were rewarded by a medal 

 which ranks among the finest of the English series. There 

 are several varieties, but all bear the same design (No. 12). 

 The three shields are forEngland, Scotland, and Ireland ; on 

 the reverse is a naval fight. The medal is signed by Simon 

 on the stern of the sinking vessel (SIMON), and on the prow 

 of another (t S.). Specimans of these medals, with broad 

 borders of trophies and valuable chains, were presented to 

 Admiral Blake, General Monk, and Admirals Penn and 

 Lawson ; four others, with narrower borders of laurel 

 leaves, and chains worth £10 each, to the four flag officers. 

 The sailors who saved the Triumph, Blake's flagship, 

 were rewarded with this medal, bearing engraved a 

 commemorative inscription: FOR EMINENT SERVICE 

 IN SAVING Y TRIVMPH FIERED IN FIGHT Wh Y 

 DvCH IN JVLY, 1353. It is one of these specimens that 

 is illustrated here (No. 12). The workmanship of these 

 medals is beyond praise, and will bear without difficulty 

 the crucial test of enlargement. They arc, in fact, quite 

 equal, if not superior, to the best Dutch medals of the time. 



With Simon's war-medals should be compared the fine 

 Wyard medal, which has, indeed, been attributed to 

 Simon (No. 13). Wyard, in a ship of twenty-two guns, 

 beat off six Irish frigates, carrying a total of one hundred 

 and eighteen guns ; and his crew were rewarded with a 

 medal somewhat similar in design to the Blake medals. 



Here we may close the first chapter in the history of 

 English medals. The second chapter may be longer, and 

 the medals thrice or four times as numerous ; but, from an 

 artistic point of view, the best period in the medallic 

 history of En.^land is included, roughly speaking, between 

 the dates 1560 and 1660, and closes with or soon after 

 the Restoration. 



