Description:
Birmingham bronze medal, c.1820
Diameter 53mm
Medal struck to commemorate the completion of the Thomason metallic vase, the vase is depicted on the obverse and reverse. The inscription on the obverse reads 'The Thomason Metallic Vase/ 21 Feet in Circumference and 5 feet 10 inches in Height', and on the reverse 'Begun in the 54th Year of King George the III and completed in the First Year of King George the IV.', that is 1814-1820. Sir Edward Thomason (1769-1849) was a leading Birmingham craftsman and the Thomason Vase is a replica in iron and brass of the Warwick Vase, an ancient marble vase, pieces of which were excavated in Italy in the 18th Century by Gavin Hamilton. The vase was greatly restored in the 19th Century by William Hamilton who then sold it to the Earl of Warwick. The original Warwick Vase is in The Burrell Collection in Glasgow after being sold from Warwick Castle in 1979, although the Castle still owns a copy. The Thomason Vase stands on a stone podium in front of Senate House, University of Cambridge, where it was acquired in 1842.