Preview
Creation Date
1846
Geography
Russia
Culture
The Russian Empire
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
‘6.7 oz. (190.5 g)’ 3.2 × 3.2 × 0.3 inch (8.0 × 8.0 × 0.7 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of David P. Harris ('46), 2020
Accession Number
2020.378
Provenance
Purchased By David P. Harris From Iconastas in London on November 6th, 1992.
Condition
Excellent condition. There is one small chip on the edge of the front side of the medal.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings
Obverse:
Великой Kнязь Игорь Съверной и Южной Россïи
Veliikoy knyaz iigor svernoy ii youzhnoy rossiiy
Prince Igor of Northern and Southern Russia.
Reverse Top:
Требуемое Безъ Войны
Tryebuyemoye byez voyni
Required without war.
Reverse Bottom:
Греки Игорю Дань Платять Вь 944 Году
Gryekii iigoryou dan platyat v 944 godu
The Greeks paid tribute to Igor in the year 944.
Inscriptions Provided by Collette Barnett (March 2025)
Description
The obverse shows the warrior prince Igor of Kyivan Rus’ (877-945) in half-figure, facing right. The warrior is wearing a plumed helmet and bearing a shield on his left arm. Around the top states, “Prince Igor of North and South Russia.”
The reverse shows a man attended by two others, kneeling before Prince Igor with three attendants standing behind him. The kneeling man extends his hands in a gesture of offering; Prince Igor extends his hands over the kneeling man. The background suggests the interior of a room with military equipment hanging on the wall to the left and right of three windows. Through an open door on the left, figures may be seen bringing tribute into the room as the reverse of the medal states, above: “Required without war,” and the bottom: “The Greeks pay tribute to Igor in the year 944.”
The numeral 46, probably representing the medal's date of 1846, appears at the bottom right of the scene. At the bottom left are the initials I.B.G. in Latin letters, perhaps the artist's initials.
Reverse view