Antonín Odehnal

Life and work

He was born on 1 October 1878 in Svratka, the son of a merchant. After primary school he studied from 1892 to 1895 at the specialised ceramics school in Bechyně; because of his talent the citizens of Svratka financed his further studies. From 1902 to 1909 he studied at the School of Applied Arts in Prague under Stanislav Sucharda and after graduating taught at the continuation school for engravers and goldsmiths in Prague. After the war he created memorials to the fallen in Třebíč (destroyed during the Second World War), Hlinsko and Svratka and reliefs for a memorial in Prague XIX (1928). For Svratka he also made the statuette The Mushroom Picker and the relief decoration of the Sokol hall, and in the 1930s a relief on the Ministry of Commerce building in Prague. His work was entered in the sculpture event of the art competitions at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He painted occasionally. Wikidata lists him as a ceramicist as well as a sculptor and medallist, in keeping with his training at Bechyně. He died on 6 April 1957 in Prague.

Coins and medals

He designed coins and medals and entered the competition for the ducat. He made medals for the Ministry of Public Health and Physical Education and a plaque for the Agricultural Union in Prague. Medals for sporting purposes form a coherent group in his work, corresponding to the interwar growth of sports competitions and their awards.

From the work in the AUREA range

The AUREA range includes his silver-plated bronze medal of 1945, Prize for Downhill Skiing, 60 mm in diameter. It is one of the late examples of his work for sporting awards.