A medallion is a round or oval ornament that frames a sculptural or pictorial decoration in any context, but typically a façade, an interior, a monument, or a piece of furniture or equipment. Ancient Roman round versions are called an , from the or Roman round shield. This was a popular form of decoration in

neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

. The frame and portrait were carved as one, in

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

for interiors, and in stone for exterior walls. It is also the name of a scene that is inset into a larger

stained glass window Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

. Ceiling medallions, also called ceiling roses or ceiling ornaments, were often made of cast plaster and were sometimes the site of hanging lamp or chandelier.

Gallery

The following gallery shows how medallions changed over time, from style to style, and how decorated or simple they were. Sometimes they were one of the key ornaments of a style, like the

Louis XVI style Louis XVI style, also called ''Louis Seize'', is a style of architecture, furniture, decoration and art which developed in France during the 19-year reign of Louis XVI (1774–1792), just before the French Revolution. It saw the final phase of t ...

of the 18th century and the

Beaux Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporated Renaissance and B ...

of the

Belle Époque The Belle Époque () or La Belle Époque () was a period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Fr ...

. They also came in different shapes, not just circles and ovals. Many

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

medallions are octagonal, showing the use of angular and stylized shapes that characterize the style, inspired by

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

. They also had different reliefs inside over time. For example, some medieval

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

n churches are decorated with colourful medallions that feature animals and mythological creatures, while many oval Neoclassical ones feature profiles, inspired by

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

cameos. Θεσσαλονίκη - Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο 1393.jpg,

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

medallion on a handle of the Derveni Krater, 370 BC, bronze and silver. Sword of Tiberius 02 (51221000751).jpg,

medallion on the scabbard of the Sword of Tiberius, 15 AD, gilded bronze,

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

Musée de l'Arles antique, Arles, France (16192263861) (2).jpg, Roman shell-shaped medallion on a sarcophagus of a married couple, early 4th century, marble, Musée de l'Arles antique,

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

, France Achillesplatte Augusta Raurica.jpg, Roman medallion on a plate from the silver treasure of Augusta Raurica, mid 4th century, silver, Augusta Raurica Museum, near Augusta Raurica,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Arte romana, capitello con clipeo 02.JPG, Roman medallion on a

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

, unknown date, stone, Cerreto Guidi, Italy Battistero di s. giovanni in fonte, mosaici del 390 ca., croce monogrammatica 02.JPG,

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

mosaic medallion with the

Chi Rho The Chi Rho (☧, English pronunciation ; also known as ''chrismon'') is one of the earliest forms of the Christogram, formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters—chi (letter), chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek (Romanization of ...

on the ceiling of Baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte,

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy, unknown architect or craftsman, 362–408 Cappella Palatina Cupola.jpg, Byzantine mosaic medallions with

rinceau In architecture and the decorative arts, a rinceau (plural ''rinceaux''; from the French language, French, derived from old French ''rain'' 'branch with foliage') is a decorative form consisting of a continuous wavy stemlike motif from which smal ...

x in the

Cappella Palatina The Palatine Chapel /ˈpælətaɪn ˈtʃæpəl/ () is the royal chapel of the Palazzo dei Normanni, Norman Palace in Palermo, Sicily. This building is a mixture of Byzantine architecture, Byzantine, Norman architecture, Norman and Fatimid archite ...

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, Italy, unknown architect or craftsman, 1140s Egerton ms 1139!1 fse005r.jpg, Byzantine medallions on the cover of the Melisende Psalter: Works of Mercy, 1131–1143, ivory,

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

, London Kästchen mit Hof- und Liebesszenen-WUS04630.jpg, Romanesque medallions on the lid of a casket of courtly love, 1180, champlevé enamel om gilded copper,

, London Guadalupe (España) Real Monasterio Entrada 095.jpg, Gothic relief on the Monastery of Saint Mary of Guadalupe, Spain, unknown architect, unknown date Domenico ghirlandaio, sala dei gigli, medaglioni con profili di imperatori e volute con eroi, 1482-84 ca, 01 adriano.jpg,

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

medallion, part of the Sala dei Gigli frescos,

Palazzo Vecchio The ( "Old Palace") is the town hall of Florence, Italy. It overlooks the , which holds a copy of Michelangelo's ''David'' statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi. Originally called the ''Palazzo della Signoria'', a ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, Italy, by

Domenico Ghirlandaio Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi (2 June 1448 – 11 January 1494), professionally known as Domenico Ghirlandaio (also spelt as Ghirlandajo), was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of the so-c ...

, 1482–1484 110825 Iasi (14).jpg,

n style ceramic medallions on the facade of the Saint Nicholas Princely Church,

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, originally 1485, restored in 1888 Cour carrée, Nord 01 (cropped section with a window, niches and medallions).jpg, Renaissance medallion with marble plaques on the north facade of the

Cour Carrée The Cour Carrée (, Square Court) is one of the main courtyards of the Louvre Palace in Paris. The wings surrounding it were built gradually, as the walls of the medieval Louvre were progressively demolished in favour of a French Renaissance archi ...

of the Louvre Palace, designed by Pierre Lescot, 16th century Paris Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal672.JPG, Louis XIII style medallion painted on some

boiserie Panelling (or paneling in the United States) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity ...

in the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris, unknown architect and painter, 1610–1643 Rennes - Parlement de Bretagne 120915-13.JPG, ''Wisdom casting out Calumny'',

Baroque painting Baroque painting is the painting associated with the Baroque cultural movement. The movement is often identified with Absolutism, the Counter Reformation and Catholic Revival,Noël Coypel Noël Coypel (; 25 December 1628 – 24 December 1707) was a French Painting, painter, and was also called Coypel le Poussin, because he was heavily influenced by Poussin. Biography His father, Guyon Coypel, was an unsuccessful artist, original ...

, 1656–1666, Palais du Parlement de Bretagne,

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

, France Chateau de Versailles Vestibule Haut 07.jpg,

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

medallion on a ceiling in the high hall of the chapel of the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, France, unknown architect or sculptor, 17th century Niche with gilt sculpture in the Palace of Versailles.jpg,

sculpture of

cherubs A cherub (; : cherubim; ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'') is one type of supernatural being in the Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the Garden of ...

holding a medallion with

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

monogram A monogram is a motif (visual arts), motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbo ...

, unknown sculptor, late 17th-very early 18th century,

, France Helblinghaus (K16A9590).jpg, Rococo medallion of the Helbling House,

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, by Anton Gigl, 1732 Dijon (21) Palais des Ducs de Bourgogne - Chapelle des Élus - 47.jpg, Rococo medallion in the Chapelle des Élus,

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

, France, designed by

Jacques Gabriel Jacques Gabriel (1667 – 23 April 1742) was a French architect, the father of the famous Ange-Jacques Gabriel. Jacques Gabriel was a designer, painter and architect of the 17th and 18th centuries and one of the most prominent designers of t ...

, 1738–1739 Vase avec des cygnes - Manufacture de Sèvres - Musée du Louvre Objets d'Art OA 11024.jpg,

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

style vase with a medallion with garlands at the top, swans and Vitruvian scrolls, by Jean-Baptiste-Étienne Genest for

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a French Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a populatio ...

, 1767, soft-paste porcelain, Louvre Clérisseau, Achilles panel, Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg, Louis XVI style medallion with garlands at the top, in a

grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German, as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

panel, originally from the Hôtel Grimod de La Reynière, Paris, designed and painted by Charles-Louis Clérissea, 1770s,

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, London Vase with cover (Vase Paris enfants) MET DP103172.jpg, Louis XVI style medallion with garlands at the top, with a portrait relief on a vase with cover,

, 1778, soft-paste porcelain,

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, New York Londonderry Vase detail, 1813, Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory - Art Institute of Chicago - DSC09497.JPG, Neoclassical medallions on the handle of the Londonderry Vase, Sèvres porcelain , designed by

Charles Percier Charles Percier (; 22 August 1764 – 5 September 1838) was a neoclassical French architect, interior decorator and designer, who worked in a close partnership with Pierre François Léonard Fontaine, originally his friend from student days. Fo ...

, decoration designed by Alexandre-Theodore Brogniart, flowers and ornament painted by Gilbert Drouet, and birds painted by Christophe-Ferdinand Caron, 1813, hard-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels, gilding, and gilt bronze mounts,

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

, US Père-Lachaise - Division 19 - Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 04.jpg, Neoclassical medallion on the Grave of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire,

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

, Paris, by David d'Angers, 1844 Paris Palais Royal Restaurant Grand Véfour Decke 3.jpg, Neoclassical medallion in Le Grand Véfour, Paris, by M.L. Viguet, 1852 Dijon Lycée Carnot détail 03.jpg, Neoclassical

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and ...

medallion on the Beaux Arts facade of the Lycée Carnot, Dijon, designed by Arthur Chaudouet, 1885–1893 Paris - Boulangerie - 64 rue Saint-Dominique - 007.jpg, Neoclassical medallion on the facade of Le Moulin de la Vierge ( Rue Saint-Dominique no. 64), Paris, by Benits et Fils, 1900 Grave of Georgiev Brothers in the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest, Romania (03).jpg, Romanian Revival medallion on the Grave of Georgiev Brothers, Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest, by

Ion Mincu Ion Mincu (; December 20, 1852 – December 6, 1912 in Bucharest) was a Romanian architect known for having a leading role in the development of the Romanian Revival style. Most of his projects are located in Bucharest, including his main work ...

, 1900 Villa La Sapinère - Évian 11.jpg, Hexagonal ceramic medallion on the Villa La Sapinière,

Évian-les-Bains Évian-les-Bains (), or simply Évian (, , or ), is a Communes of France, commune in Eastern France, by the border with Switzerland. It is located in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. A high-m ...

, France, architect Jean-Camille Formigé and sculptor Alexandre Falguière, 1892–1896 Mettmann, Beckershoffstr. 7, Westwand, rechtes Medaillon.jpg, Rococo Revival polychrome medallion on the facade of Beckershoffstraße no. 7,

Mettmann Mettmann () is a town in the northern part of the Bergisches Land, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the Mettmann (district), district of Mettmann, Germany's most densely populated rural district. The town lies ...

, Germany, unknown architect, 1902 Saint-Gilles 40 rue D'Espagne 802.jpg, Art Nouveau

sgraffito (; ) is an artistic or decorative technique of scratching through a coating on a hard surface to reveal parts of another underlying coating which is in a contrasting colour. It is produced on walls by applying layers of plaster tinted in con ...

medallion of Rue d'Espagne no. 40,

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, by Pierre Van de Wattynes, 1902 Dijon Poste Place Grangier coq 01.jpg, Louis XVI style-inspired Beaux Arts medallion with mosaic on the facade of the Hôtel des Postes de Dijon, designed by Louis Perreau, 1907–1909 Schaerbeek rue Ernest-Laude 20 904.jpg, Art Nouveau sgraffito medallion on Rue Ernest Laude no. 20, Brussels, by Joseph Diongre and Privat Livemont, 1908 "Louis XVI" tableware Fork, ca. 1909 (CH 18635507).jpg, Neo-Louis XVI style fork with medallion and

, by Shreve & Co., 1909, silver,

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum at the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 Smithsonian Institution museums and one of three Smithsonian facil ...

, New York City 18 Calea Dorobanților, Bucharest (35).jpg, Neo-Louis XVI style medallion on a stair railing of the Nicolae T. Filitti/Nae Filitis House (Calea Dorobanților no. 18), Bucharest, by Ernest Doneaud, 1910 File:31 rue Campagne-Première - détail de la façade.jpg, Louis XVI style-inspired medallion-shaped oculus, with rose garlands at the top, of Rue Campagne Première no. 31, Paris, by Alexandre Bigot (ceramist) and André Arfvidson (architect), 1911 1925, quand l'Art déco séduit le monde (Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine, Paris) (11037406626).jpg, Art Deco octagon-shaped medallion on a makeup cabinet, medallion by Alfred Janniot and cabinet by Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann, 1929 77 avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris 8e 5.jpg, Art Deco octagon medallion with

cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (; ), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts. In Greek, it was called the " horn of ...

s of Avenue des Champs-Élysées no. 77, Paris, unknown architect, 1930 Netherland Plaza Hotel, Cincinnati, OH (46497023684).jpg, Art Deco square medallions above the entrance of the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza (West 5th Street no. 35),

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, US, by Walter W. Ahlschlager and Delano & Aldrich, 1931 City Hall Rotunda2.jpg, Art Deco round medallion in the Burbank City Hall, US, by William Allen and W. George Lutzi, 1943

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

External links