Baron Maurice de Hirsch – Commemorative medal and a pin.
Baron Maurice de Hirsch (1831-1896), a Jewish wealthy philanthropist, founder of the Jewish Colonization Association which assisted Jewish East European refugees in America and mainly in Argentina.
1. Medal commemorating Baron Maurice De Hirsch, created by Yoel Tene (Tenenbaum), 1924.
Obverse: Relief of Baron Hirsch's portrait and the inscription "Baron Maurice De Hirsch 1831-1896". Signed: "I. Tenenbaum Ashuach 1924". Reverse: A family in a field of wheat. A mother holds a baby who hands his father a sheaf of wheat. Above the image appears an inscription: "Jewish Colonization Association". Signed in Hebrew: "Yoel Ashuach". Diameter: 75 mm.
Yoel Tenenbaum, sculptor and painter, native of Lodz. Moved to Eretz Israel in 1920 with a group of pioneers (Halutzim). Studied in Bezalel and later in Beaux Arts in Paris. In the early 1920 changed his name to “Ashuach” and later on to “Tene”. During the 1930s he mainly created stone chiseled works. Among other works, he assisted Avraham Melnikov with chiseling the rock for creating the Roaring Lion Memorial in Tel-Hai.
2. Pin with portrait of Baron Maurice de Hirsch, commemorating his philanthropic endeavors. The inscription “prima soc. Filantropica si ajutor reciproc” surrounds the portrait. On the reverse appears the maker’s name: L. Chr. Lauer Nürnberg Berlin. Diameter: 35 mm.