Koninkrijk der Nederlanden Historical Medal n.d. (1993-1994) On Top of the Circle - Polar bear - Ijsbeer by Elisabeth Varga. XF

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Silhouette of a polar bear to the right, below is the reflection or shadow on an ice floe.

References: De Beeldenaar 1994-1, p. 229; De Beeldenaar 1996-4, p. 169-170; Vgl. coll. British Museum nr. 1995,0334.1 (version in alabaster).

Variety: polished Ice floe.

The immediate reason for the creation of this medal was the request of the 1994 FIDEM congress, held in Budapest, to bring new materials into the art of medallion making and bring them together with a technique and a subject relating to the material. Varga saw a challenge in this and set to work with alabaster. She was awarded the “Prize for the best performance by a Hungarian medallists permanently residing abroad” for this medal. In addition to the edition in alabaster, a few pieces were cast in bronze. The subject of this medal also has personal significance for Varga, Louk Tilanus aptly expressed: 'Her father came to the Netherlands in 1924 as a five-year-old boy with the Red Cross; he only had a small stuffed polar bear with him. He always kept this stuffed animal as a symbol of his youth and his nostalgia for Hungary. He buried it in the garden in 1956, after the defeat of the Hungarian uprising. It was a precious moment for Varga that her medal, with this emotional backstory, was praised and awarded in Hungary in 1994: her father's polar bear, so to speak, emerged from the ground there again. That completed the circle for her.' A version in alabaster was purchased by the British Museum in 1995; the Royal Coin and Medal Cabinet of The Netherlands(now: National Numismatic Collection) also possesses a specimen.

Exhibited at the XXIV FIDEM or F.I.D.E.M. congress - 1994 Budapest, Hungary

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