103326 | BELGIUM & NETHERLANDS. "La Bière et le Vin" bronze Medal.

103326  |  BELGIUM & NETHERLANDS. "La Bière et le Vin" bronze Medal. Issued 1906 (65mm, 99.01 g, 12h). By Jean Lécroart & Franciscus Johannes Werner for the Société hollando-belge des amis de la médaille (Belgo-Dutch Society of the Friends of Medallic Art), and struck by Wissaert in Bussels.

 

Bonneted bust of alewife right, draped in hop cones; hop bines behind to left and right; below, LA BIERE above CONCOURS DE LA SOCTÉ HOL-BELGE / –DES AMIS DE LA MÉDAILLES 1906– in two lines // DE WIJN / VERG v/o VRIENDEN–DER MEDAILLE, nude maenad reclining right, devouring grape bunch;  overturned cylix below; grapevines with clusters of grapes behind. Edge: Plain.

 

Choice Mint State. Olive-brown surfaces, with a charming matte nature. An excellent Beaux-Arts entrant from the series with a rather overt connection to both beer and wine.

 

The Société hollando-belge des amis de la médaille d'art, similar to American series such as the Circle of Friends of the Medallion, the Society of Medalists, and even the still-active Brookgreen Gardens issues, was an annual series of medallic art, each featuring different designs and themes by some of the most acclaimed sculptors and engravers in Belgium and the Netherlands. The series produced numerous medals from 1901-1920, eventually becoming Les amis de la médaille d’art, active from 1920-1959.

 

Upload: 19 December 2025.