Pierre-François PALLOY (1754-1835) - Lot 208

Pierre-François PALLOY (1754-1835) Lead medal commemorating the storming of the Bastille. Inscriptions stamped in the center "siège de la Bastille" and on the rim of the medal "ce plomb scellait des anneaux qui enchainaient les victimes despotes retrace l'époque de la liberté conquise l'An premier" and at the bottom center "Dédié aux electeurs de 1789 par Palloy patriote lors de la rendition de son cmpte [sic] a la nation". Circa 1789. Diameter: 7.8 cm (as seen). Wear and tear. In a modern gilt-metal display case. Master mason, then building contractor, Paloy took charge of the Bastille demolition without any mandate, his role as demolisher only becoming official on July 16. He stored and resold the stones, and had various souvenirs made (scale models, commemorative medals and various trinkets from salvaged materials).