Mission Marchand - Extremely rare colonial medal of one of t - Lot 174

Lot 174
Go to lot
Estimation :
15000 - 20000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 32 200EUR
Mission Marchand - Extremely rare colonial medal of one of t - Lot 174
Mission Marchand - Extremely rare colonial medal of one of the Mission's officers: medal of the 1st official type in silver, hallmarked 'corne ARGENT' on the edge, original ribbon sewn with gold clasp featuring a moving cartouche resting on two laurel branches, surmounted by scrolls linked at the top by an enameled lotus flower, in the center the legend "DE L'ATLANTIQUE À LA MER ROUGE", fastened by a gold notched clasp, hallmarked by the Mercier firm on the clasp and on the eagle's head, the latter resting on a laurel branch. Clasp dimensions: 24.6 x 47.7 mm Medal diameter: 30.1 mm Gross weight: 28 g France, 1899. TTB to SUP As soon as the heroes of Fachoda returned home, a law was passed awarding a special gold clasp bearing the legend "De l'Atlantique à la Mer rouge" (From the Atlantic to the Red Sea) as a national award to all civilian and military members who had operated in the Upper Nile between May 23, 1896 and May 19, 1899. While there are several models of clasp, in gold or silver, only fourteen clasps of this type with the enamelled lotus flower were made by Mercier. Delivered to the Ministry of Colonies on August 7, 1899, they were given only to officers who had taken part in the Marchand Mission (see Jean Hass "La Médaille coloniale, Cent ans de présence française Outre-Mer", Belcodène 1997, p. 213). The gold clasps of the second model with reeds were awarded to the officers of the relief columns, the silver clasps to the soldiers. If this medal is a remarkable testimony to the colonial adventure and the tumultuous prelude to the Entente Cordiale, its extremely rare clasp, produced in only fourteen examples, is the greatest and most precious French phaleristic rarity.
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue