Item number: M538-7

Reference number: Borna Barac III#467

Year: AD 1904-1946

Material: Silver

Provenance: Bertolami Fine Art s.r.l. 2025

This is a miniature version of the Long Navigation Honour Medal. Originally instituted in AD 1904, it was conferred upon members of the Royal Navy with 22 years of maritime service aboard royal vessels, as well as upon mariners who completed 24 years of sea duty aboard national merchant ships.

The medal is circular in design. In the foreground on the right stands a figure of Victoria, the goddess of victory, attired in flowing robes with billowing sleeves. Her raised right hand holds a laurel sprig, whilst her left hand rests upon a circular, wood-grained shield emblazoned with the horizontal cross common to Italian city-states. To the rear left of the goddess, two vessels sail upon the open seas: one a steam-powered warship, the other a wooden, two-masted brigantine. Along the exergue at the bottom runs the inscription “REGNANDO VITTORIO EMANUELE III”, signifying “During the Reign of Victor Emmanuel III”. To the right of the shield appears the maker’s mark “S.J.”, which indicates that it most probably originated from the “Stabilimento Stefano Johnson” in Milan.

The reverse portrays a fouled anchor enveloped by rope; within the hexagonal field defined by the hemp cord, the name of the decoration is inscribed: “MEDAGLIA D’ONORE PER LUNGA NAVIGAZIONE COMPIUTA”, translating to “Honour Medal for Long Navigation Completed”, set against a background depicting a terrestrial globe with lines of latitude and longitude. The top of the medal is fitted with a suspension bar connecting to the ribbon, which features a blue ground equally divided into three parts by a central white stripe.

In AD 1946, following the abdication of the monarchy, the decoration was restructured into three classes: a gold medal for twenty years of navigation, a silver medal for fifteen years, and a bronze medal for ten years.

The “Stabilimento Stefano Johnson” was a representative Italian enterprise enjoying international renown in the fields of medal, badge, and coin manufacturing. The firm’s history can be traced back to 18th-century Birmingham, England, where the Johnson family was renowned for producing metal-pressed buttons and badges for court servants’ uniforms, liveries, and military attire. Around AD 1830, family member James Johnson relocated to Milan, introducing this craft to Italy. The company was subsequently inherited by his son, Stefano Johnson, who devoted himself to the workshop’s management and formally named the factory after himself. Although the facility was tragically reduced to ruins during the heavy bombing of Milan in August AD 1943, it was resiliently rebuilt under the stewardship of Stefano Carlo and his son, Cesare Johnson, who had recently returned from a prisoner-of-war camp with a degree in chemistry from the University of Milan. In AD 1958, they opened a modern new factory in Baranzate, a suburb of Milan, and resumed close collaboration with numerous Italian engravers and contemporary artists.

The Kingdom of Italy’s colonial expansion and contest for Mediterranean hegemony originated from the geostrategic advantage of its peninsula jutting into the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, the domestic predicament of lacking industrial resources such as coal, and successive governments’ attempts to divert internal contradictions—such as the north-south economic disparity and social unrest—through overseas military campaigns, whilst satisfying an extreme nationalist sentiment intent on reviving the glory of the ancient Roman Empire. From the late 19th century onwards, after Britain and France preemptively seized Tunisia and Egypt, Italy turned towards the Red Sea coast of East Africa, progressively establishing Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland; despite suffering a crushing defeat against Abyssinia (Ethiopia) at the Battle of Adwa in AD 1896, its expansionist ambitions did not cease. In AD 1900, Italy participated in the Eight-Nation Alliance expedition in China and subsequently secured the Italian concession in Tianjin, establishing its sole colonial and commercial foothold in the Far East. In AD 1911, it launched the Italo-Turkish War to seize Libya and the Dodecanese Islands in the Aegean Sea, and stationed troops in strategic locations across Albania during the First World War. Following the rise of Mussolini and the fascist regime, the state endeavoured to transform the Mediterranean into an internal sea and construct a vast fascist empire; in AD 1935, employing modern armaments and poison gas, it launched the Second Italo-Abyssinian War to conquer Ethiopia, merging it with adjacent colonies into “Italian East Africa”, and formally annexed Albania in AD 1939, bringing the colonial empire’s territory to its zenith. Nevertheless, this aggressive expansion not only severely depleted the national treasury, but also led Italy into diplomatic isolation and into the orbit of Nazi Germany, culminating in its comprehensive entanglement in the Second World War in AD 1940. Owing to severe deficiencies in military capability and industrial foundations, Italian forces suffered successive disastrous defeats in the Greek, North African, and East African theatres, causing the rapid collapse of the East African empire in AD 1941, whilst control over the Tianjin concession was likewise lost; with the Allied landings on the Italian mainland in AD 1943, the downfall of the fascist regime, and the post-war abolition of the monarchy, all of Italy’s overseas colonies were stripped away.

Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele III) reigned from AD 1900 to AD 1946. During his tenure, he witnessed the Italo-Turkish War, the First World War, and the post-war social crisis, earning the title “King of Victory” after the triumph in AD 1918. Nevertheless, his decision in AD 1922 not to employ military force against Mussolini’s Blackshirts, allowing the Fascist Party to take over the government, is regarded as a pivotal catalyst enabling the establishment of the fascist dictatorship. During the AD 1930s, he remained the nominal head of state, though actual power was entirely monopolised by Mussolini. Following Italy’s defeat in the Second World War and the rise of the republican movement, he abdicated in AD 1946, went into exile in Egypt, and passed away in Alexandria in AD 1947.

物件編號: M538-7

參考書目編號: Borna Barac III#467

年代: 公元 1904-1946 年

材質: 銀

來源: Bertolami Fine Art s.r.l. 2025

這是一枚遠航榮譽獎章的迷你版。最初於公元1904年設立，頒予在皇家船舶上具22年航海經驗的皇家海軍成員，以及在國家商船上完成24年航海經驗的海員。

獎章外觀呈圓形，右前方是矗立的勝利女神像，身著長袍，衣袖揚起，女神抬起的右手握著一枝月桂枝條，左手是扶著一面圓形木紋盾牌，帶有義大利城邦常見的橫十字。女神的左後方是汪洋上的兩條船，一艘是蒸汽船造型的戰艦，另外一艘是木製的雙桅小帆船。獎章最下方有一行銘文「REGNANDO VITTORIO EMANUELE III」，即「維克多·伊曼紐三世的統治」。在盾牌右側有戳記「S.J.」，很可能來自米蘭的「斯蒂法諾·強森工廠」（Stabilimento Stefano Johnson）。

背面是一條纏著繩子的船錨，麻繩圍繞的六邊形空間鐫刻著獎章名稱「MEDAGLIA D’ONORE PER LUNGA NAVIGAZIONE COMPIUTA」，即「遠航成就榮譽獎章」，後面則以經緯線的地球儀作為背景。獎章頂端有一個提把銜接綬帶，綬帶以藍色作為底色，與中央的白色色帶呈三等分。

公元1946年，王室退位後，改為三級。二十年航海經驗可獲頒金質獎章、十五年可獲頒銀質，十年可獲頒銅質。

「斯蒂法諾·強森工廠」（Stabilimento Stefano Johnson），是一家在獎牌、徽章和硬幣製造領域享有國際盛譽的義大利代表性企業。該工廠的歷史可追溯至18世紀的英國伯明罕，強森家族當時以生產宮廷侍從制服、禮服和軍裝上的金屬壓製鈕扣與徽章聞名。公元1830年左右，家族成員詹姆斯（James Johnson）移居米蘭，並將此工藝帶入義大利，隨後公司由其子斯蒂法諾（Stefano Johnson）繼承，他全心投入工坊經營並以自己的名字正式為工廠命名。該工廠雖然在公元1943年8月的米蘭大轟炸中不幸淪為一片廢墟，但在負責人斯蒂法諾·卡洛（Stefano Carlo）與畢業於米蘭大學化學系、剛從戰俘營歸來的兒子柴薩雷·強森（Cesare Johnson）的堅韌重建下，於公元1958年在米蘭郊區巴蘭扎泰開設了現代化的新工廠，並重啟與諸多義大利雕刻家、當代藝術家的密切合作。

義大利王國的殖民擴張與對地中海霸權的爭奪，源於其半島伸入地中海中央的地緣戰略優勢、國內缺乏煤炭等工業資源的困境，以及歷任政府企圖透過海外用兵轉移南北經濟失衡、社會動盪等內政矛盾，並滿足重振古羅馬帝國光榮的極端國家主義心態。自十九世紀末起，義大利在英法搶占突尼西亞與埃及後轉向東非紅海沿岸，逐步建立義屬厄利垂亞與義屬索馬利亞，雖在公元1896年阿多華戰役慘敗給阿比西尼亞（衣索比亞），但擴張野心並未停歇；公元1900年義大利參與八國聯軍侵華行動，隨後在中國取得天津義租界，確立其在遠東唯一的殖民與通商據點；公元1911年更發動義土戰爭奪取利比亞與愛琴海多得卡列斯群島，並在一戰期間進駐阿爾巴尼亞要地。墨索里尼與法西斯政權上臺後，極力將地中海打造為內海並建立法西斯大帝國，於公元1935年動用現代化武器與毒氣發動第二次義阿戰爭征服衣索比亞，將其與周邊殖民地合併為「義屬東非」，並於公元1939年正式吞併阿爾巴尼亞，使殖民帝國版圖達到頂峰。然而，這項侵略擴張不僅嚴重透支國家財政，更使義大利陷入外交孤立並倒向納粹德國，最終在公元1940年全面捲入第二次世界大戰。由於軍事實力與工業基礎嚴重不足，義軍在希臘、北非及東非戰場接連慘敗，導致東非帝國於公元1941年迅速瓦解，天津租界亦失去控制；隨著公元1943年盟軍登陸本土、法西斯政權覆滅及戰後君主制被廢除，義大利的所有海外殖民地全遭剝奪。

維克多·伊曼紐三世(Vittorio Emanuele III)，公元1900至1946年在位。任內歷經義土戰爭、第一次世界大戰與戰後社會危機，並在公元1918年勝利後獲稱「勝利之王」。然而，他在公元1922年選擇不對墨索里尼的黑衫軍採取武力抵制，允許法西斯黨接管政府，被視為法西斯獨裁得以建立的關鍵推手。公元1930年代，他名義上仍是國家元首，但實權被墨索里尼完全壟斷。二戰後隨著義大利戰敗與共和派興起，他於公元1946年退位並流亡埃及，於公元1947年在亞歷山卓逝世。