OPTICAL EFFECTS IN EARLY MEDALS

 

As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, Connecticut historical researcher and collector Gary Gianotti is asking historians, museums, scientists, and Native American scholars to take a fresh look at two George Washington Indian Peace Medals that have become the focus of more than three decades of interdisciplinary research.

At the center of Gianotti's work are forensic scientific testing and barely surviving historical records that identify a 1789 silver medallion as what may be the very first federally authorized sovereign art artifact, along with an official 1792 George Washington Indian Peace Medal attributed as the earliest surviving scientific artwork by United States Mint first engraver Joseph Wright. Through archival research, scientific examination, historical analysis, and collaboration with independent specialists, Gianotti has developed a research framework that presents evidence which may expand understanding of early American diplomacy, federal symbolism, and artistic innovation during the nation's transition into the Federal Government.

Gianotti's evidence and forensic reports present what he believes is a different untold history, suggesting these medals should be understood not only as diplomatic objects but also as sophisticated works of federal art that have been overlooked in plain sight. His research proposes that their engraved imagery, symbolism, and optical effects were intentionally designed to produce a visual physiological effect that American Indian chiefs may have interpreted as evidence that the Founding Fathers possessed extraordinary or even magical powers. Through these illusionary artistic effects, George Washington may have appeared to possess an authority, permanence, and national identity that transcended cultural boundaries. Gianotti believes these artistic features deserve renewed scholarly examination using modern forensic technology, which he believes documents optical illusion experimentation immediately preceding the creation of these medallions and other surviving works.

To read the complete press release, see:
Connecticut Researcher Calls for National Reassessment of America's Earliest Federal Diplomatic Artifacts Ahead of the Nation's 250th Anniversary (https://www.usatoday.com/press-release/story/35894/connecticut-researcher-calls-for-national-reassessment-of-americas-earliest-federal-diplomatic-artifacts-ahead-of-the-nations-250th-anniversary/)

To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
JOSEPH LOVELL WRIGHT JR: PEACE MEDAL DESIGNER? (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n07a12.html)
LOOSE CHANGE: JULY 5, 2020 : Gary Gianotti Interviewed (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n27a31.html)
NOTES ON WASHINGTON OVAL PEACE MEDALS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n51a14.html)

To read the Colonial Newsletter article and follow-up discussion, see:
The Colonial Newsletter #159 (https://archive.org/details/CNLno159)
The Colonial Newsletter #160 (https://archive.org/details/CNL160/page/n3/mode/2up)

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