Fields Medal - The Medal

The Medal

The medal was designed by Canadian sculptor R. Tait McKenzie.

• On the obverse is Archimedes and a quote attributed to Marcus Manilius which reads in Latin: "Transire suum pectus mundoque potiri" (Rise above oneself and grasp the world). The date is written in Roman numerals and contains an error.

• On the reverse is the inscription (in Latin):

CONGREGATI

EX TOTO ORBE

MATHEMATICI

OB SCRIPTA INSIGNIA

TRIBUERE

Translation: "Mathematicians gathered from the entire world have awarded for outstanding writings."

In the background, there is the representation of Archimedes' tomb, with the carving illustrating his theorem on the sphere and the cylinder, behind a branch. (This is the mathematical result of which Archimedes was reportedly most proud: Given a sphere and a circumscribed cylinder of the same height and diameter, the ratio between their volumes is equal to 2/3.)

The rim bears the name of the prizewinner.