France, Napoleon I Bonaparte. Bronze medal commemorating the construction of the Vendome column (officially the Column of the Grand Army), 1800, Bramsen 61, Bronze 42 mm, weight 34,96 g., Condition aUNC, beautiful brown patina with luster.
The Vendôme Column (officially the Column of the Grand Army) - a monument in the form of a column erected on the Place Vendôme in Paris, in the 1st arrondissement. The column was inspired by the ancient Trajan's Column and several monuments designed and never realized during the Great French Revolution, most notably the National Column, for which the cornerstone was laid on Place Vendôme in 1800. Three years later, Napoleon Bonaparte returned to the project, but instead of dedicating it to the glory of the nation, it was to proclaim the fame of the First Consul himself. In the end, work on the obelisk lasted from 1805 to 1810, and several name concepts were considered. In 1814, the statue of Napoleon Bonaparte was removed from the column by the troops of the Sixth Anti-French Coalition and replaced by the banner of the Bourbons. The metal from the statue was used for the equestrian statue of Henry IV on the Île de la Cité. It was rebuilt during the July Monarchy, the author of the new three-and-a-half-meter sculpture was Charles Émile Seurre. During the Second Empire, the sculpture, as it was in poor condition, was taken from the monument and replaced with an almost identical copy. In 1871, during the Paris Commune, the Commune Council decided to remove the column as: a symbol of brute force and false glory, an affirmation of militarism, a negation of international law, a permanent insult by the victors to the vanquished, and an attack on 1 of the 3 principles of the Republic: fraternity. On May 16, 1871, the column, to the delight of the assembled crowds, was overthrown. Two years later, already after the suppression of the Commune and during the presidency of Marshal Mac-Mahon, the column was rebuilt (source: wikipedia).
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France, Napoleon I Bonaparte. Bronze medal commemorating the construction of the Vendome column (officially the Column of the Grand Army), 1800, Bramsen 61, Bronze 42 mm, weight 34,96 g., Condition aUNC, beautiful brown patina with luster.