民国十八年梅兰芳博士纪念银章。正面梅兰芳半身像，头稍朝左。上方铭文梅博士纪念。反面梅花枝与兰花环绕五行铭文THE / COMMEMORATE / OF THE DOCTOR / OF MEI LAN / FANG。包浆深邃，细节丰富而且全无流通痕迹，底光绽放，摄人心魂。铸打佳，痕迹或经手极少，完全无碍品相。包浆悦目，趣味十足的一枚纪念章。梅兰芳是中国近代京剧表演艺术家，被誉为京剧“四大名旦”之首，50年职业生涯中多次国外演出，可説是中华文化大使。1929-30年间曾在美国停留半载，分别获美国波莫纳学院、南加州大学授予文学荣誉博士学位。极为罕见的纪念章，应是为其中一个博士学位所铸，以表彰此喂京剧大师在西方的成就。<p>CHINA. Mei Lanfang Silver Doctoral Medal, ND (ca. 1929). PCGS MS-62.L&M-Unlisted; K-Unlisted. Obverse: Bust of Mei facing slightly right, head turned slightly left; niàn jì shì bó méi (to commemorate Meis doctoral) above; Reverse: Flowering branch and reeds encompassing THE / COMMEMORATE / OF THE DOCTOR / OF MEI LAN / FANG in five lines. A most charming medal, this piece is deeply toned, with rich uncirculated details, and touches of underlying luster throughout. The strike is good, and signs of fault or handling are limited and not distracting to the overall appeal of the piece. <p><em>The pleasantly toned and highly interesting medal commemorates not a medical doctor, but in fact one of the most well known and well accomplished Peking opera artists in modern Chinese theater. Known as the Queen of the Peking Opera, he exclusively played female roles and had a robust 50-year career that included tours abroad, essentially acting as a cultural ambassador. A six month stint in the United States in 1929-30 saw him awarded two honorary doctoral degrees--one from USC, the other from Pomona College. This EXTREMELY RARE medal likely corresponds to one of these two conferrals, honoring the great artist for his achievements in the west.</em>
