The Baltic Medal, Issued to the Fleet Concerned in the Baltic Waters During the Years 1854–55 1854 - 1855

Curator: This bronze medal, created by William Wyon between 1854 and 1855, is a fascinating object. It’s titled "The Baltic Medal, Issued to the Fleet Concerned in the Baltic Waters During the Years 1854–55," and it commemorates the British naval involvement in the Crimean War. Editor: My first thought is just how perfectly serene Queen Victoria looks, despite the war it represents. It’s a really beautiful profile. Almost like a cameo, you know? Polished, precise. A calming kind of authority radiating from the surface. Curator: Absolutely. These medals were powerful tools of statecraft. The choice of bronze, its cool sheen, was all very calculated. Beyond the aesthetic appeal, consider the context: these medals were issued to all ranks who served, creating a tangible sense of participation in national events. Editor: So it’s both a work of art and a piece of propaganda. It’s odd, this blend of celebration and loss, all wrapped up in one small disc. I suppose that’s true of most war memorials. Curator: Exactly! The politics of imagery. Look at the relief – so detailed! Wyon was the chief engraver at the Royal Mint for decades. This wasn't just about Queen Victoria; it was about British naval might, the projection of imperial power. And of course, it acknowledges the sacrifice of those who served. It reminds me that objects, especially state-commissioned ones, are never neutral. Editor: It’s strangely intimate, this medal, knowing it would have been held, worn, treasured perhaps. Imagining who might have received it, their stories lost to time… there’s a melancholy there, an acknowledgement of histories both grand and profoundly personal. Curator: It's amazing how much narrative can be contained in a small circle of bronze. Thinking about how power chooses to represent itself—what gets celebrated, what gets subtly omitted… that's the ongoing conversation this piece inspires. Editor: A reminder that history isn’t just dates and battles, it's also about who gets remembered, and how. I’ll walk away considering how that narrative shifts, depending on who is holding the medal, doing the remembering.