Captain Harper's Military Cross and Family Memorabilia
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Captain John Claude Moseley Harper, 7th Australian field ambulance, the military cross awarded to Captain Harper: 'During the operations on the Somme river and East of Mont St.Quentin on August 29 and Sept 2 1918, he displayed the greatest gallantry and coolness in attending the wounded although he was under heavy shell and machine gun fire the whole time.', engraved verso 'Capt. J.C.M. Harper, A.M.C., A.I.F.' in the original case of issue. Accompanied by the formal letter and the extract from the London Gazette of 31 Jan.1919 announcing the award, which is also present. Accompanied by a number of other items from the Harper family: 1: the 1882 Grant-of-Arms awarded to Cecil Henry Harper together with the 'Freedom of the city of London' which accompanies lavish presentation document in it's VR and crown gilt decorated case. 2: a folio of original artworks prepared during the design of the Harper coat of arms. 3: a Jubilee of Victoria exhibition 1884-85 silver medal (30 mm; by J.H. Knipe; Stokes & Martin) depicting a trefoil compartment with Plenty emptying a cornucopia and pointing to a scroll with the motto Noble and Useful works. In the three compartments outside the trefoil, a leaf and scroll work; and verso 'Awarded to Cecil Harper'. 4: a church of England Grammar school, Melbourne, Jubilee April 1908 bronze medal engraved for 'J.C.M. Harper, stamps, Jubilee Exhibition' in Stokes & Sons case of presentation. 5: the O.B.E. Medal awarded to J.C.M. Harper (in the case of issue from the Royal mint). 6: a printed 'Pedigree of the family of Harper of Plymouth, Co. Devon, which has been partly extended in ink. 7: a range of photographs, most identified verso. 8: a box containing Harper family copper printing plates, seals, etc.
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- Verso - Verso is the "back" side of a sheet of paper, art work, coin or medal. The front side is "recto".
- Cornucopia - The cornucopia, literally the horn of plenty, is a symbol of abundance and wealth. It is traditionally is represented by a curved goat horn overflowing with grain and fruit.
Modern cornucopias are often depicted as horn-shaped baskets filled with food, and this symbol is often associated with the harvest. This decorative device has a long and ancient history, with roots in Greek mythology.
In one version, when Zeus was playing with the goat Amalthea he accidentally broke off one of her horns. To atone for this, Zeus promised Amalthea that the horn would always be full of whatever fruits she desired. This became the cornucopia of the Roman goddess Copia, the personification of plenty. Other goddesses, including Fortuna and Pax, also held the cornucopia.
In furniture and decorative arts, cornucopia as a decorative element have been popular since the 16th century and can be found on items as diverse as light fittings and candelabra to clocks, sculpture and statuary and furniture.
In ceramics, cornucopia shaped vases were popular in the 19th century, in singles and pairs. - Bronze - An alloy of copper and tin, traditionally in the proportions of about 9 parts of copper to 1 part of tin.
The discovery of bronze in Western Asia in the 4th century enabled people to create metal objects which were superior to those previoulsy possible because of its strength and hardness, and it has been used throughout the world for weapons, coins, tools, statuary and other decorative items.
It is very fluid in a molten state, and its hardness, strength when set, and non-corrosive properties makes it most suitable for casting sculpture.
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