Ne-I-So-Meh—Yuma
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1904
"Ne-I-So-Meh—Yuma" is a circular silver bas-relief portrait medal created in 1904 by the American sculptor Edward Warren Sawyer. Measuring 7.1 cm (2 13/16 in.) in height, the medal presents an idealized profile bust of the subject facing left, with long hair flowing downward.
Along the left upper perimeter, the piece bears the inscription "NE-I-SO-MEH--YUMA." The medal is signed and dated by the artist near the base of the neck with the text "Sawyer, Yuma, 1904." Sawyer worked in the United States, producing this medal while staying in Yuma, Arizona.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
Edward Warren Sawyer, who studied under Hermon Atkins MacNeil at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago during the mid-1890s, visited the painter Elbridge Ayer Burbank in Yuma, Arizona. In 1904, Sawyer worked alongside Burbank, crafting bas-relief medallions in silver and bronze that portrayed many of Burbank's portrait subjects. Rather than serving as ethnographic records, Sawyer's medallions presented idealized profiles. These medallions entered the collections of Burbank's patron Edward E. Ayer as well as Charles L. Hutchinson, president of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1882 to 1924, who later donated this medal.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Silver
- Dimensions
- H.: 7.1 cm (2 13/16 in.)
Technical characteristics
- Inscriptions
- Inscribed: NE-I-SO-MEH--YUMA. Signed: Sawyer, Yuma, 1904
- Maker recorded
- Edward Warren Sawyer (American, 1876–1932)
- Place recorded
- United States
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Art Institute of Chicago collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Ne-I-So-Meh—Yuma
- Museum object number
- 1911.218
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.