The piece of the month of May 2023

BRONZE MEDAL OF THE REGIONAL EXHIBITION OF ZARAGOZA (1886)

Eduardo Morales Solchaga
Chair of Navarrese Heritage and Art

In 1885 a regional exhibition was held in Zaragoza, which had begun to take shape in 1879 when the Real Sociedad Económica Aragonesa de Amigos del País of that city, presided by Desiderio de la Escosura, launched the initiative to present the most outstanding of Spanish industrial production, in a very favorable national and international context with this subject of exhibitions, at that time novel. It was not the first time that Zaragoza hosted a exhibition of this kind subject, since in 1868, at a very politically convulsive time, the same society organized a similar competition . The venue chosen for 1885 was the slaughterhouse that Ricardo Magdalena was building 800 meters from the city, which had more than 25,000 square meters of floor space, almost half of which was covered.
 

View of the fairgrounds (1885)

A cholera epidemic initially disrupted the organization of the sample and the official inauguration, scheduled for September 1, was delayed until October 20 when, under unpleasant weather conditions, the solemn inauguration took place with the participation of the aforementioned Desiderio de la Escosura, Cardinal Archbishop Benavides, and the acting civil governor, the latter on behalf of Alfonso XII, who died only a month later.
 

Inaugural ceremony of the exhibition

The sample was highly appreciated by board , although the number of requests exceeded its capacity:

In spite of the epidemic and the difficulties that the circumstances offered to the realization of the contest, in spite of the fact that the premises occupy an area of more than 30,000 square meters, not counting the parks, the board had to deny place to hundreds of exhibitors, whose products could not be accommodated in those immense and elegant halls, in those very wide galleries, in those pavilions of new factory and in those courtyards. Everything was filled; and nothing was enough to satisfy the needs of the written sheets.

Therefore, a second stage was called for July 25, 1886. Both were divided into six sections: Sciences, Liberal Arts, Agriculture, Mechanical Industry, Industry Chemistry and Extractive Industries. A total of 1,300 national and foreign exhibitors attended, a not inconsiderable number at the time.

In both exhibitions, independent juries were formed for each of the sections, in charge of evaluating and, if necessary, awarding prizes for the articles presented. Four types of award, diplomas of honor and medals of first (gold), second (silver) and third class (bronze) were established. The Economic Society had the happy idea of publishing, already in 1888, a list of all the exhibitors awarded in both exhibitions, so we have a very approximate idea of the most select products presented, among which there are some of Navarrese origin(see table).

In line with the above, in a private collection in Pamplona is preserved a medal of third class, cast in bronze, with a diameter of approximately 53.5 mm and a weight of about 100 grams. On the obverse is an old craftsman seated in his workshop chiseling a decorative jar; behind him closes the composition a laurel branch, in reference letter to the triumph. Under the scene appears an allegorical group of the Sciences and Letters, in which it is possible to identify a gear, a palette with its brushes and a caduceus. At its feet, the marks of authorship and edition: F. Menéndez y Aguilar. All this is surrounded by the following registration: exhibition ARAGONESA DE 1885. Y 1886.

Third Medal class. Obverse

On the back is the coat of arms of Aragon, on a cartouche of twisted leather and flanked by two laurel branches. Below it is a plain cartouche (perhaps reserved for engraving the name of the award winner), at the bottom of which is the reference letter to the headquarters of the exhibition: Zaragoza. This second composition is surrounded by the registration accrediting the promoting institution: REAL SOCIEDAD ECONÓMICA ARAGONESA. As we have been able to verify, this articulation of obverse and reverse is common for the first and second class medals, which are also bronze, gold and silver respectively.
 

Third Medal class. Reverse

As for the authorship, according to the medal, the composition was composed and executed by F. Menéndez, an engraver established in Zaragoza in 1875, who had a workshop in Coso (no. 65), next to the main theater; and edited by E. Aguilar, a silversmith from Zaragoza with a workshop next to place del Pilar (no. 20), for which he came to be known as "the silversmith of the cathedrals". The two collaborated, at least, in another medal to commemorate the National Catholic congress held in Zaragoza in 1890. On even dates they died, their widows continuing both businesses.

Two copies have been found following the same iconography, although from different hands, so they can be considered minor variations. The first one is similar in size and materials to the one studied here, but designed by the Barcelona engraver Solà i Camats (place Milans no. 3), and edited by Genaro Castells Reig (Travessera de Dalt, no. 133), heir to the prolific workshop of his father, Bernardo Castells. This partnership between the two artists was repeated on many occasions, as can be seen in their production in the intercentury period. The other variant is smaller (38 mm / 27.3 grs) and is made of gilded bronze. The box that preserves it belongs to the jewelry store "Faci Hermanos" (Pedro and Miguel Faci Abad), once located at 16 Alfonso Street, on the corner of place de Sas, although its origin is probably different, as this establishment was founded in 1897, ten years after the medal was made. Its design corresponds to the Barcelona engraver Jacinto Morató, trained abroad and related to Freemasonry, and the edition to the Zaragozan jeweler José Tarongi Pina (46 Jaime I street), who curiously appears as a first prize winner class in the first period of the regional exhibition . In any case, both medals are unusual and perhaps they were prototypes for the composition that was finally chosen, all of them following the specifications prepared by the company organizing the event.

As far as the origin is concerned, the compendium of award winners includes Modesto Sainz Albeo, a resident of Pamplona, who presented his exhibitor ("balls of all kinds") in the second period of the regional exhibition, obtaining a medal of third place class (bronze), which is the one under study here. As for the winner, it is evident that there is a typo in the second surname, which should read "Arbeo". In any case, he was a virtuoso in the art of composing balls for fronton and is even mentioned in the story "un partido de pelota" belonging to the work De mi país ( 1893), signed by Miguel de Unamuno. Antonio Peña y Goñi, composer, music critic and great fan of pelota, in his work La pelota y los pelotaris of 1892, writes the following:

The balls that are used in the modern ble are made of rubber, thread and leather, and they weigh, those that can be called of regulation, 120 grams; they cost, each one, from four to five pesetas. Their manufacture is extremely delicate and requires special mastery, for which Modesto Sainz, from Pamplona, has a monopoly in the pelotero, who makes them equal, lively and resistant, and supplies almost all the frontons of Spain and South America. The balls have 84 grams of rubber, two leathers and a layer of thread up to fill in the regulatory weight. The difficulty of the construction lies in the perfect distribution of the rubber, in the hollow that the thread covers and in the hardness and texture of the leathers. The conditions of a good ball are the frank and straight bounce, without violent deviations, the dry and clear noise, and its natural and lively exit when hitting the wall.

At final, the medal is a good example to illustrate the character of the regional exhibitions and the context in which they were generated. It also serves to contrast how the city of Zaragoza has maintained a close relationship with this subject of exhibitions (regional of 1868 and 1885/6; Spanish-French of 1908 and International of 2008).

Navarros awarded in the Aragonese Regional exhibition (1886)
 

SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

CANO, M., Catalog of Spanish Medals, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2005.

CRUSAFONT, M., Medalles Conmemoratives dels Països Catalans i de la Corona Catalano-aragonesa (ss. XV-XX), Barcelona, Catalan Society of Numismatics programs of study , 2006.

exhibition 1885-1886. Catalog of the awarded exhibitors to proposal of the jury, Zaragoza, Imprenta del Hospicio Provincial, 1888.

GARCÍA GUATAS, M., "Zaragoza, vista a través de sus exposiciones", in Zaragoza. Visiones de una ciudad, Zaragoza, Zaragoza City Council, 2004, pp. 175-187.

La Ilustración Española y Americana, no. 46 (1885).

PEÑA Y SAÍNZ, A., La pelota y los pelotaris, Madrid, Imprenta de José M.ª Ducazcal, 1892.

VIVES, A., Medals of the House of Bourbon. Catálogo de la Real Library Services, Madrid, Tipografía de Blass y Cía., 1898.

Voice "exhibition Aragonese of 1885", in Gran Enciclopedia Aragonesa Online.

VV.AA., Medallas españolas, Madrid, Real Academia de la Historia, 2005.

VV.AA., Coins and medals of the Royal Academy of History, Madrid, RAH, 2007.