Thomas Jefferson Indian Peace Medal
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Object Label
In the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, silver peace medals were presented to Native leaders by presidents or their representatives as a sign of friendship and the promise that the U.S. government would honor treaties. Tragically, every treaty was broken, changed, or nullified when it served the government’s interests. For many Native people, peace medals came to symbolize broken promises. For others, they became status objects that were incorporated into traditional ornaments.
Caption
John Matthias Reich American, born Germany, 1768–1833. Thomas Jefferson Indian Peace Medal, ca. 1801. Silver, Diameter: 4 in. (10.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of F. Ethel Wickham in memory of her father, W. Hull Wickham, 49.135.4. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 49.135.4_front_PS2.jpg)
Artist
Title
Thomas Jefferson Indian Peace Medal
Date
ca. 1801
Geography
Place made: United States
Medium
Silver
Classification
Dimensions
Diameter: 4 in. (10.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of F. Ethel Wickham in memory of her father, W. Hull Wickham
Accession Number
49.135.4
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
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Frequent Art Questions
What is this?
This is a friendship medal. Such medals were presented to Native American leaders as a sign of friendship and the promise that the U.S. government would honor treaties.How does this object connect with the exhibition?
Visions and Myths of a Nation gallery deals with the European-American idea that they had a god-given right to seize and settle lands west of the Mississippi, regardless of the Native Americans who lived there already.The peace medal was a representation of peace between Native leaders and European colonizers. It would have been carried by US travelers into Western Native lands-- men like Lewis and Clark.How did this object come to this museum?
The medal itself was a gift to the museum from F. Ethel Wickham in memory of her father, W. Hull Wickham.The Brooklyn Museum is home to what is known as an Encyclopedic collection which aims to represent a wide and comprehensive picture of art across various cultures, geographies, and time periods. American art and history, of course, is a part of that.Thank you so much
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