Medal Awarded to French Civilian Pigeon-Keepers (Colombiers civils)

Eugène-André Oudiné

1870 · Copper · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, Paris came under siege by German forces. In order to communicate with the outside world, new postal technologies were devised, including the use of homing pigeons to carry messages in micro-film to and from the capital city. This struck copper medal was awarded to civilian pigeon-keepers ("colombiers civils") by the French Ministry of War. It was designed by Eugène Oudiné, one of the most accomplished and prolific medallists of the nineteenth-century, and who is perhaps best known for his winning 1848 design for a new five-franc coin.

Artist

Eugène-André Oudiné

Date

1870

Medium

Copper

Culture

French

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Michael Schlossberg, in honor of Luke Syson, Denise Allen and Emerson Bowyer, 2016