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Abraham Abramson

Abraham Abramson (1752 or 1754 – 28 July 1811) was a Prussian coiner and medallist. Born into a Jewish family, he later converted to Protestantism.[1]

Abraham Abramson
Abraham Abramson (1754–1811)
Bornc. 1754
Died28 July 1811
1783 medals of the Royal couple of Russia

Life edit

Son of the coiner Jacob Abraham, like him Abramson belonged to the court of Frederick the Great, and he also was the first Jew to be admitted into the Prussian Academy of Arts.[2]

Abramson was a prolific medalist. He depicted among others Immanuel Kant, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Moses Mendelssohn, Christoph Martin Wieland, Johann Georg Sulzer and Leonhard Euler.

Bullion Suppliers to the Berlin Mint edit

The Hohenzollern Elector of Brandenberg, Frederick William (1620–88) appointed Israel Aaron as bullion supplier to the Berlin mint and granted the right of striking small coins to Esther Liebmann, wife first of Israel Aaron and then, after Aaron's death to the Court jeweller, Jost Liebmann.

As Hohenzollern King of Prussia, Frederick William I (1688–1740) reluctantly appointed Jewish mint suppliers after Christian officials had failed. Levin Veit was succeeded in this function by the Gompertz brothers, the tobacco manufacturers. Frederick the Great (1740–86) shared his father's prejudices but found it necessary to lease the state mint to the Jews. In 1751 the Gompertz brothers joined with the banker Daniel Itzig and his brother-in-law Moses Isaak to lease the six state mints. In 1755 they beat competition from the Fraenkel brothers to retain this concession. In 1758 these factions merged and shared the ignominy of the anti-Semitism provoked by Frederick's devaluation in order to finance his many wars, although this expedient may have saved the Prussian state.

In the design of medals the celebration of personalities and events was the province of the individual artist or craftsman. However, Frederick the Great imposed restrictions on creativity and the Swiss Hedlinger and his pupil Georgi resigned. The supply of bullion to the Prussian mint at Berlin by Jews since the early 17th century would now pave the way for a highly skilled medallic craftsman and contemporary of Meyer Rothschild.

Jacob Abraham and Abraham Abramson edit

Jacob Abraham (1723–1800) originated in the German duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He first cut precious gems at the age of thirteen in Polish Lissa. On the death of his father in 1731 the family moved to Sverin and then to Mecklenburg. In 1750 he married Beilchen, daughter of a teacher. His talents were recognised by Frederick the Great who confirmed his appointment at the Berlin mint as a die cutter in 1752 after a two-year apprenticeship. The following year, at the age of 31, he was transferred to Stettin as Royal Medalist to inaugurate a new mint. He also engraved small coins and Polish money before moving to Königsberg in 1755. Abraham fled before the Russian advance in the Seven Years' War (1756–63) to Danzig in 1758, Dresden in 1759 and Berlin in 1761 where he cut a new Prussian eagle for the thaler and struck medals in honour of Frederick's military successes. In his biography Hoffmann describes Abraham as astute, intelligent and industrious; more of a craftsman than an artist. He worked at both the Neue Muntze and Berlin Altmuntze. In the last twenty years of his life his powers declined and much of his work was done collaboratively with his son Abraham Abramson. Forrer catalogued the better known works. Of note is the famous medal of Moses Mendelssohn where the portraiture is the work of the son. In the English series the marriage medal of George III is noteworthy. On his death in 1800, he was, most unusually, granted full civil rights, and laid to rest at the Hamburg Street Cemetery, Berlin (row 28, stone 19!) with many tributes.

Abramson (1754–1811) was the most successful of Abraham's three artistic sons. The male children, Abraham, Hirsch and Michel inherited full civil rights, but these were not available to female offspring, Roschen and Yachet. The descendants of Roschen could still be traced in Berlin in Hoffmann's time. Abraham officially became his father's assistant at the Berlin mint at the age of seventeen. He was appointed Royal Medalist in 1782 after a long apprenticeship and travelled extensively from 1787 to 1791 learning design and modelling techniques, mainly in Italy. He is considered the outstanding medalist of this remarkable period. His output was enormous amounting to over 250 medals. He was fortunate to be at the height of his powers at such a time of artistic, scientific and technological advance, military struggle, political and social reform. His best known medal in the English series is that commemorating the death of Nelson in 1805. Again Forrer lists many of the more outstanding works and Hoffmann gives a remarkably comprehensive catalogue of father and son. Abramson died from overwork at the age of 57.

Works edit

References edit

  1. ^ Gottheil, Richard; Kohller, Kaufmann; Broydé, Isaac. "Converts to Christianity, Modern". JewishEncyclopedia.com. Jewish Encyclopedia. from the original on 19 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-28. The following is a list of the more prominent modern converts ... Abrahamson, A. (1754–1811), German stamp-cutter.
  2. ^ . Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  3. ^ Biskup, Thomas (2007). "Höfisches Retablissement: Der Hof Friedrichs des Großen nach 1763". Friedrich der Große - eine Perspektivische Bestandsaufnahme.

Sources edit

  • Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie
  • Jacob Abraham und Abraham Abramson, 55 Jahre Berliner Medaillenkunst, 1755–1810, Tassilo Hoffmann (Frankfurt am Main, 1927).
  • Jewish Minters & Medalists, Daniel M. Friedenberg, ISBN 0-8276-0066-6, Philadelphia, 1976.

External links edit

  • Abraham Abramson collection at the Israel Museum. Retrieved September 2016.

abraham, abramson, 1752, 1754, july, 1811, prussian, coiner, medallist, born, into, jewish, family, later, converted, protestantism, 1754, 1811, bornc, 1754potsdamdied28, july, 1811berlin, 1783, medals, royal, couple, russia, contents, life, bullion, suppliers. Abraham Abramson 1752 or 1754 28 July 1811 was a Prussian coiner and medallist Born into a Jewish family he later converted to Protestantism 1 Abraham AbramsonAbraham Abramson 1754 1811 Bornc 1754PotsdamDied28 July 1811Berlin 1783 medals of the Royal couple of Russia Contents 1 Life 2 Bullion Suppliers to the Berlin Mint 3 Jacob Abraham and Abraham Abramson 4 Works 5 References 6 Sources 7 External linksLife editSon of the coiner Jacob Abraham like him Abramson belonged to the court of Frederick the Great and he also was the first Jew to be admitted into the Prussian Academy of Arts 2 Abramson was a prolific medalist He depicted among others Immanuel Kant Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Moses Mendelssohn Christoph Martin Wieland Johann Georg Sulzer and Leonhard Euler Bullion Suppliers to the Berlin Mint editThe Hohenzollern Elector of Brandenberg Frederick William 1620 88 appointed Israel Aaron as bullion supplier to the Berlin mint and granted the right of striking small coins to Esther Liebmann wife first of Israel Aaron and then after Aaron s death to the Court jeweller Jost Liebmann As Hohenzollern King of Prussia Frederick William I 1688 1740 reluctantly appointed Jewish mint suppliers after Christian officials had failed Levin Veit was succeeded in this function by the Gompertz brothers the tobacco manufacturers Frederick the Great 1740 86 shared his father s prejudices but found it necessary to lease the state mint to the Jews In 1751 the Gompertz brothers joined with the banker Daniel Itzig and his brother in law Moses Isaak to lease the six state mints In 1755 they beat competition from the Fraenkel brothers to retain this concession In 1758 these factions merged and shared the ignominy of the anti Semitism provoked by Frederick s devaluation in order to finance his many wars although this expedient may have saved the Prussian state In the design of medals the celebration of personalities and events was the province of the individual artist or craftsman However Frederick the Great imposed restrictions on creativity and the Swiss Hedlinger and his pupil Georgi resigned The supply of bullion to the Prussian mint at Berlin by Jews since the early 17th century would now pave the way for a highly skilled medallic craftsman and contemporary of Meyer Rothschild Jacob Abraham and Abraham Abramson editJacob Abraham 1723 1800 originated in the German duchy of Mecklenburg Strelitz He first cut precious gems at the age of thirteen in Polish Lissa On the death of his father in 1731 the family moved to Sverin and then to Mecklenburg In 1750 he married Beilchen daughter of a teacher His talents were recognised by Frederick the Great who confirmed his appointment at the Berlin mint as a die cutter in 1752 after a two year apprenticeship The following year at the age of 31 he was transferred to Stettin as Royal Medalist to inaugurate a new mint He also engraved small coins and Polish money before moving to Konigsberg in 1755 Abraham fled before the Russian advance in the Seven Years War 1756 63 to Danzig in 1758 Dresden in 1759 and Berlin in 1761 where he cut a new Prussian eagle for the thaler and struck medals in honour of Frederick s military successes In his biography Hoffmann describes Abraham as astute intelligent and industrious more of a craftsman than an artist He worked at both the Neue Muntze and Berlin Altmuntze In the last twenty years of his life his powers declined and much of his work was done collaboratively with his son Abraham Abramson Forrer catalogued the better known works Of note is the famous medal of Moses Mendelssohn where the portraiture is the work of the son In the English series the marriage medal of George III is noteworthy On his death in 1800 he was most unusually granted full civil rights and laid to rest at the Hamburg Street Cemetery Berlin row 28 stone 19 with many tributes Abramson 1754 1811 was the most successful of Abraham s three artistic sons The male children Abraham Hirsch and Michel inherited full civil rights but these were not available to female offspring Roschen and Yachet The descendants of Roschen could still be traced in Berlin in Hoffmann s time Abraham officially became his father s assistant at the Berlin mint at the age of seventeen He was appointed Royal Medalist in 1782 after a long apprenticeship and travelled extensively from 1787 to 1791 learning design and modelling techniques mainly in Italy He is considered the outstanding medalist of this remarkable period His output was enormous amounting to over 250 medals He was fortunate to be at the height of his powers at such a time of artistic scientific and technological advance military struggle political and social reform His best known medal in the English series is that commemorating the death of Nelson in 1805 Again Forrer lists many of the more outstanding works and Hoffmann gives a remarkably comprehensive catalogue of father and son Abramson died from overwork at the age of 57 Works editIn the royal court Abraham Abramson coined two medals for the marriage in Berlin of Sophie Dorothea of Wurttemberg and Paul I of Russia for which the celebrations reportedly were of the most splendid of those years 3 References edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Abraham Abramson Gottheil Richard Kohller Kaufmann Broyde Isaac Converts to Christianity Modern JewishEncyclopedia com Jewish Encyclopedia Archived from the original on 19 May 2008 Retrieved 2008 05 28 The following is a list of the more prominent modern converts Abrahamson A 1754 1811 German stamp cutter Der Mensch im Menschen ist ewig Archived from the original on 2016 03 04 Retrieved 2009 09 08 Biskup Thomas 2007 Hofisches Retablissement Der Hof Friedrichs des Grossen nach 1763 Friedrich der Grosse eine Perspektivische Bestandsaufnahme Sources editAllgemeine Deutsche Biographie online version Jacob Abraham und Abraham Abramson 55 Jahre Berliner Medaillenkunst 1755 1810 Tassilo Hoffmann Frankfurt am Main 1927 Jewish Minters amp Medalists Daniel M Friedenberg ISBN 0 8276 0066 6 Philadelphia 1976 External links editSome coins by Abraham Abramson in the memorial of Kant Abraham Abramson collection at the Israel Museum Retrieved September 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Abraham Abramson amp oldid 1150947387, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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