1167 | Medals

Automatically generated translation

ALFONSO XII. (1874-1885). Universal Exhibition of Paris. (Ae. 62.39g / 50mm). 1878. Extremely Fine. Scratch.

This third Universal Fair, whose theme revolves around Agriculture, Arts and Industry, was held between May and November 1878 on both banks of the Seine. Spain focused its participation in exhibitions of both archeology and anthropology and not by chance; the last years of the XIX and the first of the XX were the years of historicism, a current that in its sculptural and architectural aspect sought to recover styles from the past, imitating them but endowing them with some new contemporary characteristic. The classical Greek temple, represented in this medal, together with the naked torso, the female figures, or the columns of Hercules are a faithful reflection of the moment in which we find ourselves.