Eccleston Medal

Thomas Webb

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In 1805, Daniel Eccleston commissioned Thomas Webb to create a medal honoring George Washington; what resulted would later be recognized as one of the most unique and complex medals representing the president. Eccleston was an Englishman and a Quaker, described by many and in his own obituary (published while he was still alive) as eccentric. He lived for many years in North America after the American Revolution. He wrote of spending time with French-allied Huron and British allied Iroquois tribes and accompanying several of their important leaders in birch-bark canoes on major rivers in Canada. Eccleston also claimed to have spent a couple of days with Washington at Mount Vernon, but several historians have questioned the accuracy of the account. The medal reflects both supposed experiences: the obverse shows a portrait bust of Washington in unusual metal armor, while the reverse depicts a semi-nude Native American man with the inscription "The Land Was Ours." Eccleston’s religious and personal ties may have induced him to include the Indigenous figure, often interpreted to be a critique of the dispossession of Native lands. The medal was sent to various American statesmen including Thomas Jefferson who displayed it in his home.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art