medallion (architecture)

The following gallery shows how medallions changed over time, from style to style, and how decorated or simple they were. Sometimes they were one of the key ornaments of a style, like the Louis XVI style of the 18th century and the Beaux Arts architecture of the Belle Époque. They also came in different shapes, not just circles and ovals. Many Art Deco medallions are octagonal, showing the use of angular and stylized shapes that characterize the style, inspired by Cubism. They also had different reliefs inside over time. For example, some medieval Moldavian churches are decorated with colourful medallions that feature animals and mythological creatures, while many oval Neoclassical ones feature profiles, inspired by Roman cameos.

Θεσσαλονίκη - Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο 1393.jpg|Ancient Greek medallion on a handle of the Derveni Krater, {{circa}} 370 BC, bronze and silver.{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=David Michael |title=Pocket Museum - Ancient Greece |date=2017 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-51958-5 |page=217 |language=en}}

Sword of Tiberius 02 (51221000751).jpg|Roman medallion on the scabbard of the Sword of Tiberius, {{circa}} 15 AD, gilded bronze, British Museum{{cite book|last1=Virginia|first1=L. Campbell|title=Ancient Rome - Pocket Museum|date=2017|publisher=Thames & Hudson|isbn=978-0-500-51959-2|page=184|url=|language=en}}

Musée de l'Arles antique, Arles, France (16192263861) (2).jpg|Roman shell-shaped medallion on a sarcophagus of a married couple, early 4th century, marble, Musée de l'Arles antique, Arles, France{{sfn|Eastmond|2013|p=28}}

Achillesplatte Augusta Raurica.jpg|Roman medallion on a plate from the silver treasure of Augusta Raurica, mid 4th century, silver, Augusta Raurica Museum, near Augusta Raurica, Switzerland{{cite book|last1=Virginia|first1=L. Campbell|title=Ancient Rome - Pocket Museum|date=2017|publisher=Thames & Hudson|isbn=978-0-500-51959-2|page=245|url=|language=en}}

Arte romana, capitello con clipeo 02.JPG|Roman medallion on a capital, unknown date, stone, Cerreto Guidi, Italy

Battistero di s. giovanni in fonte, mosaici del 390 ca., croce monogrammatica 02.JPG|Byzantine mosaic medallion with the Chi Rho on the ceiling of Baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte, Naples, Italy, unknown architect or craftsman, 362–408{{sfn|Eastmond|2013|p=42}}

Cappella Palatina Cupola.jpg|Byzantine mosaic medallions with rinceaux in the Cappella Palatina, Palermo, Italy, unknown architect or craftsman, 1140s{{sfn|Eastmond|2013|p=204}}

Egerton ms 1139!1 fse005r.jpg|Byzantine medallions on the cover of the Melisende Psalter: Works of Mercy, 1131–1143, ivory, British Library, London{{sfn|Eastmond|2013|p=210}}

Kästchen mit Hof- und Liebesszenen-WUS04630.jpg|Romanesque medallions on the lid of a casket of courtly love, {{circa}} 1180, champlevé enamel om gilded copper, British Museum, London{{cite book|last1=Robertson|first1=Hutton|title=The History of Art - From Prehistory to Presentday - A Global View|date=2022|publisher=Thames & Hudson|isbn=978-0-500-02236-8|page=586|url=|language=en}}

Guadalupe (España) Real Monasterio Entrada 095.jpg|Gothic relief on the Monastery of Saint Mary of Guadalupe, Spain, unknown architect, unknown date

Domenico ghirlandaio, sala dei gigli, medaglioni con profili di imperatori e volute con eroi, 1482-84 ca, 01 adriano.jpg|Renaissance medallion, part of the Sala dei Gigli frescos, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy, by Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1482–1484

110825 Iasi (14).jpg|Moldavian style ceramic medallions on the facade of the Saint Nicholas Princely Church, Iași, Romania, originally 1485, restored in {{circa}} 1888

Cour carrée, Nord 01 (cropped section with a window, niches and medallions).jpg|Renaissance medallion with marble plaques on the north facade of the Cour Carrée of the Louvre Palace, designed by Pierre Lescot, 16th century{{sfn|Bresc-Bautier|2008|p=28}}

Paris Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal672.JPG|Louis XIII style medallion painted on some boiserie in the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris, unknown architect and painter, {{circa}}1610–1643

Rennes - Parlement de Bretagne 120915-13.JPG|Wisdom casting out Calumny, Baroque painting by Noël Coypel, {{circa}} 1656–1666, Palais du Parlement de Bretagne, Rennes, France

Chateau de Versailles Vestibule Haut 07.jpg|Baroque medallion on a ceiling in the high hall of the chapel of the Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France, unknown architect or sculptor, 17th century

Niche with gilt sculpture in the Palace of Versailles.jpg|Baroque sculpture of cherubs holding a medallion with Louis XIV's monogram, unknown sculptor, late 17th-very early 18th century, Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France

Helblinghaus (K16A9590).jpg|Rococo medallion of the Helbling House, Innsbruck, Austria, by Anton Gigl, 1732

Dijon (21) Palais des Ducs de Bourgogne - Chapelle des Élus - 47.jpg|Rococo medallion in the Chapelle des Élus, Dijon, France, designed by Jacques Gabriel, 1738–1739

Vase avec des cygnes - Manufacture de Sèvres - Musée du Louvre Objets d'Art OA 11024.jpg|Louis XVI style vase with a medallion with garlands at the top, swans and Vitruvian scrolls, by Jean-Baptiste-Étienne Genest for Sèvres, {{circa}} 1767, soft-paste porcelain, Louvre

Clérisseau, Achilles panel, Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|Louis XVI style medallion with garlands at the top, in a grotesque panel, originally from the Hôtel Grimod de La Reynière, Paris, designed and painted by Charles-Louis Clérissea, 1770s, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Vase with cover (Vase Paris enfants) MET DP103172.jpg|Louis XVI style medallion with garlands at the top, with a portrait relief on a vase with cover, Sèvres, {{circa}}1778, soft-paste porcelain, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Londonderry Vase detail, 1813, Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory - Art Institute of Chicago - DSC09497.JPG|Neoclassical medallions on the handle of the Londonderry Vase, Sèvres porcelain , designed by Charles Percier, decoration designed by Alexandre-Theodore Brogniart, flowers and ornament painted by Gilbert Drouet, and birds painted by Christophe-Ferdinand Caron, 1813, hard-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels, gilding, and gilt bronze mounts, Art Institute of Chicago, US{{Cite web |title=Londonderry Vase |url=https://www.artic.edu/artworks/68769/londonderry-vase |access-date=19 June 2023 |website=Art Institute of Chicago |id=1987.1}}

Père-Lachaise - Division 19 - Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 04.jpg|Neoclassical medallion on the Grave of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, by David d'Angers, 1844

Paris Palais Royal Restaurant Grand Véfour Decke 3.jpg|Neoclassical medallion in Le Grand Véfour, Paris, by M.L. Viguet, 1852{{Cite web |title=Immeuble en bordure du Palais-Royal, restaurant Le Grand Véfour |url=https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/merimee/PA00085851 |access-date=15 October 2023 |website=pop.culture.gouv.fr}}

Dijon Lycée Carnot détail 03.jpg|Neoclassical polychrome medallion on the Beaux Arts facade of the Lycée Carnot, Dijon, designed by Arthur Chaudouet, 1885–1893

Paris - Boulangerie - 64 rue Saint-Dominique - 007.jpg|Neoclassical medallion on the facade of Le Moulin de la Vierge (Rue Saint-Dominique no. 64), Paris, by Benits et Fils, {{circa}} 1900{{Cite web |title=Boulangerie |url=https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/merimee/PA00088674 |access-date=17 September 2023 |website=pop.culture.gouv.fr}}

Grave of Georgiev Brothers in the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest, Romania (03).jpg|Romanian Revival medallion on the Grave of Georgiev Brothers, Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest, by Ion Mincu, {{circa}} 1900

Villa La Sapinère - Évian 11.jpg|Hexagonal ceramic medallion on the Villa La Sapinière, Évian-les-Bains, France, architect Jean-Camille Formigé and sculptor Alexandre Falguière, 1892–1896

Mettmann, Beckershoffstr. 7, Westwand, rechtes Medaillon.jpg|Rococo Revival polychrome medallion on the facade of Beckershoffstraße no. 7, Mettmann, Germany, unknown architect, 1902

Saint-Gilles 40 rue D'Espagne 802.jpg|Art Nouveau sgraffito medallion of Rue d'Espagne no. 40, Brussels, Belgium, by Pierre Van de Wattynes, 1902{{cite book|last1=|first1=|title=Façades Art Nouveau – Les Plus Beaux sgraffites de Bruxelles|date=2005|publisher=[aparté]|isbn=2-930327-13-8|page=50|url=|language=en}}

Dijon Poste Place Grangier coq 01.jpg|Louis XVI style-inspired Beaux Arts medallion with mosaic on the facade of the Hôtel des Postes de Dijon, designed by Louis Perreau, 1907–1909

Schaerbeek rue Ernest-Laude 20 904.jpg|Art Nouveau sgraffito medallion on Rue Ernest Laude no. 20, Brussels, by Joseph Diongre and Privat Livemont, 1908{{cite book|last1=|first1=|title=Façades Art Nouveau – Les Plus Beaux sgraffites de Bruxelles|date=2005|publisher=[aparté]|isbn=2-930327-13-8|page=61|url=|language=en}}

"Louis XVI" tableware Fork, ca. 1909 (CH 18635507).jpg|Neo-Louis XVI style fork with medallion and monogram, by Shreve & Co., {{circa}} 1909, silver, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York City

18 Calea Dorobanților, Bucharest (35).jpg|Neo-Louis XVI style medallion on a stair railing of the Nicolae T. Filitti/Nae Filitis House (Calea Dorobanților no. 18), Bucharest, by Ernest Doneaud, {{circa}}1910{{Cite book |last=Marinache |first=Oana |title=Ernest Donaud - visul liniei |date=2015 |publisher=Editura Istoria Artei |isbn=978-606-94042-8-7 |page=79 |language=ro}}

File:31 rue Campagne-Première - détail de la façade.jpg|Louis XVI style-inspired medallion-shaped oculus, with rose garlands at the top, of Rue Campagne Première no. 31, Paris, by Alexandre Bigot (ceramist) and André Arfvidson (architect), 1911{{cite web|url=https://pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/merimee/PA00086621|website=pop.culture.gouv.fr|title=Immeuble|access-date=13 April 2025}}

1925, quand l'Art déco séduit le monde (Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine, Paris) (11037406626).jpg|Art Deco octagon-shaped medallion on a makeup cabinet, medallion by Alfred Janniot and cabinet by Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann, {{circa}} 1929

77 avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris 8e 5.jpg|Art Deco octagon medallion with cornucopias of Avenue des Champs-Élysées no. 77, Paris, unknown architect, {{circa}} 1930

Netherland Plaza Hotel, Cincinnati, OH (46497023684).jpg|Art Deco square medallions above the entrance of the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza (West 5th Street no. 35), Cincinnati, US, by Walter W. Ahlschlager and Delano & Aldrich, 1931

City Hall Rotunda2.jpg|Art Deco round medallion in the Burbank City Hall, US, by William Allen and W. George Lutzi, 1943

• Floor medallion
• Tondo (art): round (circular)
• Cartouche (design): oval, rectangular or with a more complex shape

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book |last=Bresc-Bautier |first=Geneviève |title=The Louvre, a Tale of a Palace |date=2008 |publisher=Musée du Louvre Éditions |isbn=978-2-7572-0177-0 |language=en}}
• {{Cite book |last=Eastmond |first=Anthony |title=The Glory of Byzantium and early Christendom |date=2013 |publisher=Phaidon |isbn=978-0-7148-4810-5 |language=en}}

{{Commons category|Medallions}}

Category:Ornaments (architecture)