Jiří Dostál

Life and work

He was born on 1 October 1945 in Podlevín near Nová Paka (some sources give only Nová Paka). From 1959 to 1963 he studied at the glassmaking technical school in Železný Brod and from 1964 to 1970 at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague under Stanislav Libenský. From 1970 to 1977 he designed glass costume jewellery and then worked freelance until 1990. From 1990 he led the metal engraving studio at the school of applied arts in Jablonec nad Nisou and was its director from 1991 to 2012; there he founded the courses Struck Medal and Coin and Promotional Design. He is a member of the Association of Medal Artists and in 2020 received the Liberec Region Governor's Honour for his lifetime contribution to the visual arts.

Coins and medals

Since the founding of Česká mincovna he has created more than a hundred coins and medals, and he sits on the Czech National Bank's commission assessing designs for currency. As early as 1967 he won the competition for a commemorative coin of Jan Evangelista Purkyně. His medal series cover the Luxembourgs on the Bohemian throne, the national parks of the Czech Republic, Olympic champions, American presidents and Czechoslovak and Czech presidents; he also designed a medal honouring his teacher and friend Jiří Harcuba.

From the work in the AUREA range

The AUREA range includes two of his silver medals: the medal marking 645 years since the laying of the foundation stone of Charles Bridge (2002, Ag 999, 50 mm) and the Milada Horáková medal from the National Heroes edition (2020, Ag 999, 37 mm).