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Auction: 24124 - Spink Numismatic e-Circular 36: British and World Coins and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 1848

Italy, Mantuan school, Bronze Medal, c. 1505, Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519), LVCRETIA . BORGIA ESTEN . FERRARIAE . MVT . AC . REGII . D ., draped bust left, a tress of her hair braided and tied behind, rev. VIRTVTI . AC . FORMAE . PVDICITIA . PRAECIOSISSIMVM, a blindfolded cupid tied to a tree, to which various attributes are attached, 72.24g, 60mm (Armand 1, 118/3; Hill Corpus 233), small piercing at 12 o'clock, nonetheless with a superb and handsomely struck-up portrait and with a pleasing patination, extremely fine and extremely rare

Provenance

The "Estafefette No. 21" Collection of Ancient, English and World Coins

Spink, Auction 6013, 29 June 2006, lot 294

Margaret Amstell, by private treaty, 11 June 1987

Glendining, 10 June 1987, lot 269 - £3,200 'Small piercing at top, but a superb portrait medal with attractive patination, extremely fine and extremely rare'

Hess, Auction 248, 24-25 October 1978, lot 1080


The bust is copied from a earlier study, c. 1502 (Corpus 232; Armand II, 89/2; Kress 79), which was made for her marriage to Alfonso I, d'Este. The reverse design is also found on a portrait medal of Jacoba Carreggia (Corpus 234; Armand I, 118/1; Kress 80)


Lucrezia Borgia became Duchess of Ferrara in 1505 on the accession of her third husband, Alfonso I d'Este, as Duke. The bust is copied from an earlier study c.1502 (Armand II, 118/3; Corpus 232; Kress 79), which was made for her marriage to Alfonso. The reverse derives from a design by Niccolo Fiorentino showing Virginity tying Love to a tree, which was taken up by Moderno for his 'Death of Orpheus' plaquette (c.1500-1502). It was clearly much to the taste of the Mantuan court, as a simplified version, without the attributes, was used on medals of Jacoba Correggia and Maddelena Rossi.
Jean de Foville proposed an attribution to Melioli ("Le médailleur 'à l'Amour capfif'," in Gzette des Beaux-Arts 39 (1908) pp385-393), a suggestion which Hill doubted, but which Scher has 'tentatively proposed reviving' (Currency of Fame, 20, note 5)


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Sold for
£4,200

Starting price
£2500