Wholesale Vintage sports medal – Mongré – football – Art Deco

A small witness to that interwar France in which sport, education and the appreciation of effort took on a new role in the formation of youth. This old patinated metal medal bears on the reverse the name MONGRÉ, referring to the Mongré institution in Villefranche-sur-Saône, an establishment whose history dates back to the 19th century and which long held an important place in the region's education. The obverse is devoted to sport. Two athletes are depicted in full motion around a ball, in a particularly dynamic composition. The stylized bodies, the palm decoration and the highly geometric construction of the medal fully belong to the aesthetic vocabulary of the interwar period. The medal fits within the universe of Fraisse-Demey productions, a French firm particularly active in the creation of medals, badges and sporting awards during this period. In the 1920s and 1930s, these small objects readily moved beyond the mere realm of rewards to adopt the modern lines of their time. Movement, speed and physical power became subjects in their own right, perfectly suited to the Art Deco aesthetic. The association with Mongré gives it an additional dimension. One can easily imagine this medal being awarded on the occasion of a match, contest or sporting competition organized within the institution. Almost a century later, it thus retains something very vivid of that era when schools celebrated their students' achievements with medals meant to be kept. Its old patina, far from erasing its design, pleasantly emphasizes the reliefs and gives it today all the charm of an object that has survived the decades. A lovely piece to slip into a collection of antique medals, school or sporting memorabilia, but also a small decorative object laden with history. Circa 1930s.