Item number: M485

Year: AD 1937

Material: Bronze

Size: 73.0 x 73.0 x 6.9 mm

Weight: 167.85 g

Manufactured by: Medallic Art Company, NY

Provenance: Private Collector, USA, 2025

Entitled Peace and War, this medallic work was designed in AD 1937 by the prominent American sculptor Chester Beach (1881–1956). In the same year, it was selected as the sixteenth issue in the series released by the renowned Society of Medalists. The design draws its iconographic inspiration from the famous aphorism of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, serving to articulate the ominous shadow of impending warfare and the pervasive anxieties looming over the international community during the late 1930s, a period marked by the aftermath of the Great Depression and the eve of the Second World War.

The obverse of the medal bears the inscription “.IN PEACE SONS BURY THEIR FATHERS.” and depicts a group of robust, nude youths collectively bearing their father’s coffin. This composition manifests the natural succession of generations and human life during peacetime; the lower-left field features the artist’s signature and date mark, “BEACH / © 1937”.

Conversely, the reverse is incised with the inscription “.IN WAR THE FATHERS BURY THEIR SONS.” The scene portrays an elderly, emaciated, and hunchbacked father laboriously carrying the corpse of his son, who has perished on the battlefield, upon his shoulders. Another lifeless body lies prostrate at his feet while vultures circle in the sky above, powerfully conveying the profound disruption of the natural order inherent to wartime.

Reflecting upon the creative concept of this medal, Chester Beach observed: “The idea expressed by this medal is very simple and universal. The Greeks put it in the fewest words possible: ‘In peace, sons bury their fathers; in war, fathers bury their sons.’ Shall our young men be buried under rows of stone crosses before they have lived their lives, or shall they live out their lives and be buried by their sons, looked up to in peace? In these days of war clouds, it is a thought to be kept in mind.”

The medal was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York, with a reported mintage of 941 specimens in bronze and 100 specimens in silver.

物件編號: M485

年代: 公元 1937 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 73.0 x 73.0 x 6.9 mm

重量: 167.85 g

製造地: 紐約獎章藝術公司 2025

來源: 美國私人收藏 2025

這款紀念章名為《和平與戰爭》（Peace and War），是美國著名雕塑家切斯特·比奇（Chester Beach，1881–1956）於1937年所設計的作品。它在當年被選為著名的「獎章雕刻家協會」（The Society of Medalists）發行的第16款系列紀念章。其設計靈感來自古希臘歷史學家希羅多德的名言，用以表達1930年代經濟大蕭條後期、二戰全面爆發前夕，籠罩在國際社會上空的戰爭陰影與擔憂。

紀念章的正面，刻有銘文「.IN PEACE SONS BURY THEIR FATHERS.」（在和平時期，兒子埋葬父親），描繪了數位強壯的裸體青年共同抬著父親靈柩前行的場景，展現出和平時期生命的自然傳承；左下方帶有創作者的簽名與年份標記「BEACH / © 1937」。

背面則刻有銘文「.IN WAR THE FATHERS BURY THEIR SONS.」（在戰爭時期，父親埋葬兒子），畫面描繪一位因年老而乾瘦駝背的父親，正艱難地將在戰場上犧牲的兒子遺體扛在肩上，腳邊還躺著另一具軀體，天空中有禿鷹在盤旋，表現了戰爭時期的強烈失序。

側面則是「THE SOCIETY OF MEDALISTS SIXTEENTH ISSUE CHESTER BEACH SCULPTOR MEDALLIC ART CO.N.Y. bRONZE」，表示其為「獎章雕刻家協會」第十六款的紀念章，並標著作者與製造商。

切斯特·比奇在談到這枚紀念章的創作理念時曾寫道：「這枚獎章傳達的想法非常簡單且普世。希臘人用最精煉的話總結了這一切：『和平時，兒子葬父；戰爭時，父葬子。』我們的年輕人難道要在心智成熟前，就被埋葬在成排的石十字架下嗎？還是他們應該圓滿度過一生，並在和平中接受兒子的敬仰與安葬？在當前戰雲密布之際，這是我們必須銘記於心的思考。」

該獎章由紐約獎章藝術公司鑄造，據報道，青銅版產量為941枚，白銀版產量為100 枚。