Medallions

This one-off boxwood carving looks like the medallions that were widely circulated in the 17th-century. It was common for medallions to be presented to mark important events and to sometimes serve as propaganda. The V&A dates this carving from 1702, which means it may have been produced to commemorate William III's death.

There are many other examples of medals, medallions and metallic tokens in the great museum collections. This is an example of one of the portrait medallions that were produced in large numbers on both sides during the civil war. This one is interesting because of the inscription on its back. You can read more about this and the other objects if you click on the thumbnails.