German Lusitania medallion showing Death bestriding RMS Lusitania ('Dance of Death' series)

MMM.2004.142.1

Information

German medallion from a satirical series produced by Walther Eberbach, 1916, called Totentanz (‘Dance of the Dead’). On the obverse is Death in the form of a skeleton, standing in the sea, his legs astride the sinking Lusitania . Text around edge: 'Heimtucke. U. Gewarnter. Leichtsinn. An. Bord. D. Lusitania' is translated as 'Malice and forewarned recklessness on board the Lusitania'. The reverse design has a stylised pentagonal shell enclosing the text - 'DEM VERACHTER DER. WARNUNG WOODROW WILSON 1916', translated as 'To Woodrow Wilson the despiser of warnings'.