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A laurel or oak wreath framing a decoration's central device.
Also known as: Laurel wreath on a medal, Wreath frame
A ring of leaves enclosing the design. The classical victory association is genuinely documented — Roman triumphs — which makes this one of the few award motifs whose symbolism is not a later invention, though which leaf is used varies by system.
A circular wreath of leaves, usually laurel or oak, enclosing or framing the central device of a decoration.
Contexts: History
The laurel's association with victory descends from Roman practice, where a wreath was worn by a general celebrating a triumph — a documented classical origin rather than an attribution made later by award designers.
Classical antiquity onward
Oak rather than laurel is used in several German and Northern European systems, where the oak carries its own established associations with strength and endurance.
Germany and northern Europe
A ring of small pointed leaves in two curving branches meeting at the bottom, enclosing a central device, sometimes tied with a ribbon at the join.
Both are wreaths drawing on the classical victory association; one frames an award and the other commemorates.