Special Collections

Sold on 3 April 1998

1 part

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A Collection of Historical and Art Medals, the Property of a European Collector

Lot

№ 718

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3 April 1998

Hammer Price:
£130

Death of Henrik Ibsen, 1906, a large cast bronze medal by H.S. Lerche, bust left, wearing spectacles, reverse naked couple standing within horseshoe-shaped lyra, 86mm. A powerful rendition, very fine and extremely rare (£120-150)

Henrik Johan Ibsen (1828-1906), Norwegian playwright and dramatist, recognised today as the father of modern drama. For much of the latter part of the 19th century Ibsen lived in Rome, which perhaps explains why Lerche, working there at the time of Ibsen’s death, chose him as a subject. Another specimen of this medal is in the British Museum