102617 | GERMANY. "The Lunatics in Gallipoli" cast bronze Medal.

102617  |  GERMANY, FRANCE, GREAT BRITAIN & OTTOMAN EMPIRE. "The Lunatics in Gallipoli" cast bronze Medal. Dated 1916 (56mm, 71.25 g, 12h). By K. Goetz in München.

 

DIE / MONDSÜCH / TIGEN • AUF / GALLIPOLI (the lunatics in Gallipoli), British soldier advancing right and holding ship, and French soldier kneeling right and taking aim with rifle; Ottoman crescent to right // The same two men, now lifeless and reduced to skeletons, lying upon an empty battlefield; Ottoman star and crescent above. Edge: Some filing marks as made, otherwise plain.

 

Kienast 169; Klose –; The Art of Devastation –; Frankenhuis 1460; Böttcher Coll. 5470. PCGS AU-55. Darker brown surfaces, with some lighter hues on the high points and some scattered hints of green in the recesses.

 

Here, Goetz pokes rather morbid fun at the Gallipoli campaign of 1915, in which, as described in The Art of Devastation, "...the Royal Navy attempted to force the straits of the Dardanelles resulting in the humiliating loss of several warships. First Sea Lord John Fischer eventually called off the attempt. Ultimately, the failed Gallipoli campaign led to his resignation and to the resignation of his superior the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill." Goetz punningly refers to them as lunatics on account of their utter failure, utilizing the crescent moon iconography of the Ottoman Empire to full effect.

 

This item was featured in our e-Sylum ad.
 

 

Upload: 1 October 2024.

 

Sorry, this item is no longer available.