Medallion for a monument — what it is and how to choose one

When someone orders a photograph for a monument for the first time, they come across several words that seem to mean different things — medallion, ceramic photo, ceramic photography, portrait on porcelain, sometimes just plaque. The explanation is simple: they're names for the same product, and the difference comes down mostly to habits of speech, varying from region to region and from one stonemason to another.

Medallion means, first of all, a shape

In its most common sense, a medallion is the oval-shaped ceramic photo — the one most people picture when they imagine a monument. The oval is the traditional shape in cemeteries and takes up the least space on the stone, which is why it appears both on modest crosses and on large family plaques.

The term is sometimes also used for the round shape, which is less common. When ordering, it's good to state the exact size and shape, not just the word medallion — that way there's no room for misunderstanding.

What it's made of

A ceramic or porcelain plaque, onto which the image is fired at high temperature. It isn't a photograph glued on top, but an image fused into the surface. That's where the resistance to sun, rain, and frost comes from: there's no separate layer that can peel or fade.

What sizes it comes in

• Small, around 10x8 cm — for a secondary photo, for an urn, or when the space on the stone is tight.
• 12.5x9.5 cm — the classic size.
• 15x11 cm — for wider monuments, when the portrait needs to be recognisable from a few steps away.
• 18x13 cm and above — for tall or massive stones, where a small plaque would be lost.

With or without a rim

A medallion with a rim has a thin outline, gold or silver, around the image. It's not just decoration: on marble with a rich pattern, the rim clearly separates the photograph from the stone and makes it easier to make out from a distance. On uniform black granite, a plain medallion often looks more sober.

How to choose

Measure the recess on the monument, if there is one, and choose a size that fits with a little play — never at the exact limit, because ceramic that's forced in will crack. If the plaque will be glued onto a flat surface, choose based on the distance from which the stone is viewed. And if you're unsure, send us a photograph of the monument and we'll tell you what fits.

Whatever you call it — medallion, ceramic photo, or ceramic photography — the product is the same. What matters is the shape, the size, and the way the photograph is processed.