Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading (1860-1935)
Arthur Immanuel Lowenthal (1879 - 1964)
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
1936 (signed and dated)
Materials
Bronze
Measurements
230 mm (Diameter)
Order this imageCollection
Upton House, Warwickshire
NT 446628.3
Summary
Uniface bronze medal by Artur Immanuel Loewental (1879-1964), of Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading (1860-1935), dressed in suit with tie, profile, facing left. Inscription right of profile reads A. LOWENTAL/ FECIT/ LONDON/ 1936 [A Lowental made this in London, 1936]. Inscription around edge reads RVFVS.D.ISAACS.MARQVIS.OF.READING - G.C.B [Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath] – G.C.S.I [Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India] - GC.I.E [Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire] - G.C.V.O. [Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order] 1860-1935. On reverse, two sprues, adapted into bosses with screw threads to allow the relief to be fixed to a mount.
Full description
Rufus Daniel Isaacs, First Marquess of Reading (1860-1935) began life in relatively humble circumstances, the son of a Jewish fruit merchant in London, but rose to become Lord Chief Justice, Ambassador to the United States of America and Viceroy of India. Leaving school at the age of fourteen, rather than join the family business, with his parents’ agreement he joined the ship Blair Atholl as ship’s boy. On attempting to jump ship at Rio de Janeiro he was caught and sent home to London and his family. After spells in the family business and as a stock jobber, neither of which suited him, it was eventually decided that he should read for the Bar. In 1887 he was called to the Middle Temple where he set up a practice specialising in Trades Union law. Between 1904-13 he was M.P. for Reading. Among his other subsequent posts he was Solicitor General and Attorney General, Viceroy of India (1921-25), Foreign Secretary (in 1931) and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. He was created Marquess of Reading in 1926, the first commoner since the Duke of Wellington to be raised so high, and the only Jew to have been granted a marquessate. For Artur Immanuel Loewental, see NT 446628.1. The medal was made following Lord Reading’s death in 1935, in commemoration of his life and achievements. Although proud of his Jewish roots, Reading, like Lord Bearsted, was not an active supporter of the Zionist cause. Jeremy Warren, 2018
Provenance
Acquired by Walter Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted, c.1936; given with Upton House to the National Trust by Walter Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted (1882–1948), in 1948.
Credit line
National Trust Collections (Upton House, The Bearsted Collection)
Marks and inscriptions
inscription right of profile reads A.LOWENTAL./FECIT/ LONDON/1936. Inscription around edge reads RVFVS.D.ISAACS.MARQVIS.OF.READING - G.C.B. - G.C.S.I – GC.I.E - G.C.V.O. 1860-1935.
Makers and roles
Arthur Immanuel Lowenthal (1879 - 1964), sculptor
References
Turner 2014: John T. Turner, Artur Immanuel Loewental 1879-1964. A brief introduction to his life and work, together with a select list of his sculpted works, Lincoln 2014, p. 90, no. LOE 193. Brown 1995: Laurence Brown, A Catalogue of British Historical Medals 1760-1960. Volume III. The Accession of Edward VII to 1960, London 1995, p. 148, no. 4268