Exposición México Esplendor de 30 siglos Medal (1991)

This medal commemorates the exhibition Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries, one of the most ambitious shows of Mexican art ever organized, presented at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York between 1990 and 1991 and later at other venues.

The exhibition spanned three millennia of artistic creation, from the pre-Hispanic civilizations to modern art, and brought the country's masterpieces before an international audience, consolidating Mexico's cultural image abroad.

Struck in silver and of a good module, the piece belongs to the exhibition medals, issued to commemorate an event that projected Mexico's artistic heritage in one of the most prestigious museums in the world.

Crossed-image alert

The listing is titled Medalla Exposición México Esplendor de 30 siglos (1991), but the photos show a different piece. Before describing anything, it is worth correcting the assignment, because the obverse and reverse have no relation to a 1991 exhibition.

What the image shows

On one face appears a child angel seated on clouds, writing on a tablet, surrounded by the circular legend A LA APLICACION PREMIO DE HONOR and an engraver's signature at the foot. The other face carries an open laurel wreath framing, in four lines, LA AUTORIDAD POLÍTICA DE MÉXICO, with a bow at the base. The look is bronze or patinated copper, typical of a 19th-century school award medal.

Context

We found no public source documenting this piece with verifiable data, so we do not assert authorship, mint, or exact date. What is clear from the iconography and the legends is that this is an award for diligence, not a commemorative medal of 1991.

Value and collecting

A medal is not legal tender: its value is set by the metal, the condition, and demand among collectors, not by a face value. To compare similar pieces or ask about this one, visit the shops directory and share photos in the forum before assigning it a price.