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Hector Memorial Medal: CM.40-2005

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Artist: Wyon, Allan Gairdner
Issuer: New Zealand Institute
Issuer: Hector, James, Sir (Struck in the name of)

Entities

Categories

Description

Sir James Hector was for much of the nineteenth century New Zealand's foremost man of science. He began his career in Canada as part of the Royal Geological Survey, and in 1859 came to New Zealand to found the Geological Survey there. In 1868 he became head of the New Zealand Institute, the country's premier scientific society, and remained so until 1903 when he retired. He died in 1907, and a fund was established to commemorate his work by the establishment of a prize for scientific research, which was duly established in 1908. The prize was, and is still, awarded in the form of a bronze medal, to the person whom the Awards Committee considers to have done the most that year to advance their field. The field concerned rotates annually through botany, chemistry, ethnology, geology, physics (in which were considered mathematics and astronomy) and zoology. The medal that is awarded for this prize was designed by Allan Gairdner Wyon, and this piece is a specimen in bronze; the Museum also has one in white metal.

Notes

History note: From the estate of the late Mrs Venetia M. Watson, daughter of the artist

Place(s) associated

  • Wellington (NZ)

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (2005-01-31) by Watson, Philip Charles

Dating

1914-07-14 CE - 1915 CE

Note

Bronze specimen

Components of the work

Object composed of bronze Diameter 63.0 mm Die Axis 0 degrees Weight 98.34 g

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: Bust of Sir James Hector left with inscription "BORN / MDCCCXXXIV / DIED / MDCCCCVII" behind head, legend in border around

  • Text: TO·COMMEMORATE·THE·WORK·OF·SIR·JAMES·HECTOR·K·C·M·G·F·R·S·M·D·IN·NEW·ZEALAND·MDCCCLXIV--MCMVII [rosette]
  • Location: Obverse
  • Type: Design

Inscription present: Explorer in Maori dress with staff kneeling beneath palm tree with grasses behind, left hand raised to shade eyes and gazing at pair of birds on branch of small tree to right, lake with Maori canoe sailing right and mountains in backgrond; in the exergue, laboratory equipment including a retort, a globe and stack of books; legend in border around

  • Text: NEW · ZEALAND · INSTITUTE / FOR · SCIENTIFIC · RESEARCH
  • Location: Reverse
  • Type: Design

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: CM.40-2005
Primary reference Number: 156559
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Wednesday 4 December 2013 Last processed: Tuesday 13 June 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Coins and Medals

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Hector Memorial Medal" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/156559 Accessed: 2024-11-22 16:13:37

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/156559 |title=Hector Memorial Medal |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-22 16:13:37|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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