Art Deco French Medal Robert Cochet Monnaie de Paris Basse-Cour de Lille 50mm

Beautiful French Art Deco Medal by Robert Cochet

"La Basse-Cour Familiale de Lille" — Femme à la Colombe

Up for auction is a striking, authentic French Art Deco award medal designed by the renowned sculptor and medalist Robert Cochet (1903–1988). This visually stunning piece combines classic Art Deco elegance on the obverse with fascinating regional French social history on the reverse.

Design & Iconography

• Obverse: Features a beautifully stylized Art Deco woman draped in classical attire, reclining against a formal garden balustrade with a classic urn in the background. She gently holds a dove or pigeon on her outstretched hand, while two more doves fly below the octagonal inset frame. Signed R. Cochet along the lower right frame line.

• Reverse: Inscribed centrally "LA BASSE-COUR FAMILIALE DE LILLE" (The Family Backyard Poultry Club of Lille). The text is surrounded by a stylized, segmented geometric frame enclosing branches of laurel and palm leaves.

Historical Context

Founded in 1924 by a local physician in Lille, La Basse-Cour Familiale was a social cooperative initiative modeled after working-class allotment gardens (jardins ouvriers). The association promoted backyard poultry keeping and small-scale farming among urban working families to improve their self-sufficiency and preserve regional domestic animal breeds.

Technical Specifications

• Sculptor / Artist: Robert Cochet (1903–1988)

• Publisher / Distributor: CIE A. J. D'ESTRAY — 4 rue Greffulhe, Paris

• Mint / Striking Authority: Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint)

• Edge Markings: Stamped with the official Paris Mint "Cornucopia" (horn of plenty) privy mark and "BRONZE" as shown in the edge photograph.

• Diameter: 50 mm

• Weight: 60.35 grams

• Composition: Silvered Bronze (Bronze Argenté)

• Period: Circa late 1920s to 1930s (Art Deco period)