Silver medal of the Games of the XVII Olympiad held in Rome in 1960. The medal was won in the saber team tournament, composed of: Jerzy Pawlowski, Wojciech Zablocki, Ryszard Zub, Marian Kuszewski, Emil Ochyra and also Andrzej Piatkowski, just whose medal is the subject of this auction. The medal was won by legendary fencer-sabre player Andrzej Piatkowski (born October 22, 1934 in Warsaw, died June 11, 2010 there) a three-time Olympic medalist and six-time medalist in the world fencing championships. He was a player for Legia Warsaw for most of his career, and later worked as a coach. He was a lieutenant colonel in the Polish Army.
Andrzej Piatkowski worked out the arrangements of fencing duels in the film Pan Wolodyjowski. In the aforementioned film, he played the role of a Turk, fighting with Wolodyjowski, and also appeared in the series Adventures of Mr. Michael.
It should be noted that the presented medal is an extraordinary rarity on the Polish collector's market, since at the Olympic Games in Rome the Polish National Team won only 6 silver medals. And at the entire Olympic Games in Rome, the Polish National Team won only one medal in fencing. Three silver medals won by Mr. Jerzy Pawlowski, Mr. Wojciech Zablocki and Mr. Ryszard Zub are in the collection of the Museum of Sport and Tourism in Warsaw.
Olympic medals according to the presented design were handed out from the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics to the 1968 Mexico City Games. The medal was designed by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli (1865-1942) and was selected after a competition organized by the International Olympic Committee in 1921.
The obverse of the medal depicts the figure of the Olympic champion being carried by the crowd. The champion holds a victory palm in his left hand, while the entire scene is depicted against the backdrop of the Olympic stadium. At the bottom of the circle in which the medal was cast, the name of the discipline for which the medal was presented is engraved in Italian. The medal on display has engraved the inscription , "Sherma" i.e. , "Fencing".
On the reverse of the medal in the central part is a seated figure of the goddess of victory (Nike) holding in her left hand the palm of victory, while in her right hand is a laurel wreath traditionally presented to the winners of the Games. In the background is a relief depicting a two-horse chariot, while behind it is a stadium styled after the Roman Colosseum. To the right of the goddess Nike is a Greek amphora, next to which is engraved the inscription , "Stab. Artistici Fiorentini - Firenze", i.e.. , "Artistic Products Factory - Florence". To the left of the goddess Nike is the inscription "Giocchi Della XVII Olimpiada Roma MCMLX" i.e. , "Games of the XVII Olympiad Rome 1960". At the feet of the goddess Nike is stamped a sample of silver ,,800". The medal is made of silver, while the ottoman and chain were made of bronze.
It is worth noting here that the medals presented at the Rome Olympics are the only Olympic medals in history to be cast in a stylized circle of eight laurel leaves, and were also presented on a chain of twenty links also stylized in the shape of laurel leaves. The links of the chain on the reverse side are flat. In the center, the chain is connected by a circular rosette centrally decorated with a flower motif.
Diameter: 68 mm, Thickness: 6.5 mm,
Weight: 211 g.
