1960 Olympic 400m Freestyle Swimming Gold Medal
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Awarded for the 400m men's freestyle swimming final race held on 31 August 1960. From 1928 to 1968, the medals for the Summer Olympic Games were identical, depicting a design first used for medals awarded at the games of the IX Olympiad (Amsterdam 1928), created by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli (1865-1942) and chosen after a competition organised by the international Olympic Committee. Exceptionally, for the games in Rome, the obverse and the reverse of the medal were inverted. The obverse embossed with an Olympic champion carried in triumph by the crowd, with the Olympic stadium in the background and the reverse embossed with the goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner's crown in her right. The reverse also embossed with the specific inscription 'Giochi Della XVII Olimpiade Roma Mcmlx' and to the circumference with 'Stab. Artistici Fiorentini - Firenze' for the name of the mint, Stabilimenti Artistici Fiorentini . The medals for these games were set in a circle of bronze, featuring a laurel wreath and inscribed 'Nuoto', and completed by a chain comprising 20 links designed as paired laurel leaves and berries and one smaller link embossed with a flower. Gilt silver and bronze 218 grams; medal diameter 54 mm; chain length 417 mm. Provenance: Murray rose Am, Sydney. The Estate of the late Murray rose Am, Sydney. Exhibited: National sports Museum, Melbourne cricket ground, Melbourne, 1987 - 21 September 2020. Literature: Murray rose, life is Worth swimming, Arbon Publishing, Sydney, 2013, pp. 176, 194 (illustrated)
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- Obverse - Obverse means the front face of a coin or medal, and the reverse means the back face. The obverse of a coin is commonly called heads, because it often depicts the head of a monarch or famous person.
- Laurel Leaf - The use of the laurel leaf as a decorative element can be traced back to ancient Greece and Rome, where it was closely associated with victory and honour. In these cultures, the laurel was a sacred tree that was dedicated to the god Apollo and was believed to have protective and healing properties.
In ancient Greece, the laurel wreath was awarded to victors in athletic competitions, such as the Olympic Games, as a symbol of their achievement. The wreath was also associated with academic achievement, and was often worn by scholars and poets. The Greeks also used the laurel leaf as a symbol of victory in war, and it was often depicted in artwork alongside images of triumphant warriors and heroes.
The Romans continued this tradition, and the laurel wreath became a symbol of the highest military honor, the triumph, awarded to victorious generals. The wreath was also used to crown emperors and other important officials, and was often depicted in Roman art and architecture as a symbol of power and authority.
The laurel leaf is still used as a symbol of achievement, success, and excellence, and is frequently used in logos, emblems, and other branding materials. Its association with victory and honour has made it a popular choice for awards, medals, and other forms of recognition. - Embossed / Repousse - Embossing, also known as repousse, is the technique of decorating metal with raised designs, by pressing or beating out the design from the reverse side of the object.It is the opposite of chasing, where the decoration is applied from the front. An embossed or repoussed object may have chasing applied to finish off the design.
- Bronze - An alloy of copper and tin, traditionally in the proportions of about 9 parts of copper to 1 part of tin.
The discovery of bronze in Western Asia in the 4th century enabled people to create metal objects which were superior to those previoulsy possible because of its strength and hardness, and it has been used throughout the world for weapons, coins, tools, statuary and other decorative items.
It is very fluid in a molten state, and its hardness, strength when set, and non-corrosive properties makes it most suitable for casting sculpture.
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