Jump to content
CoinPeople.com

Iosephus

Members
  • Posts

    22
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Iosephus's Achievements

Member

Member (2/6)

0

Reputation

  1. I just looked through Attwood's book, and interestingly the British Museum only has five of the medals in the series, and is lacking St. Bartholomew.
  2. Definitely not rare. I happened to have owned a bronze example myself at one time. I sold it six years ago for about $100.
  3. Interesting jeton! Is that the Hebrew name of God in the cloud from which the flailing arm is?
  4. Thinking further about the "M", it is possible it could stand for the same thing for Armellini when he was master of studies in Bologna for the 1512-13 academic year ("magister studentium"). Of course, this would call further into question the dating of the medal, since he would not have had that title when he went to Rome for the case against Pietro da Lucca, as the appointment was ratified on June 19, 1512.
  5. I have been staring at the portrait trying to see if I could determine an estimate on the age of the subject, as there is an approximate difference of 25 years in the ages of Armellini and Foschida. However, I cannot determine whether I think it looks more like a man of 40 or of 65 years of age. A second thought I've had is in regards to the appearance of the habit he is wearing. The look reminds me greatly of that of another famous Dominican, Girolamo Savonarola: I am unsure of the typical appearance of a member of the Servite Order, which Foschida belonged to, and whether or not it would be noticeably different in such a portrait.
  6. Since the medal makes no mention of a family name (either Armellini or Foschida), I do not believe that to be a deal breaker. The meaning of the "M" as maestro (or magister) does seem like a good possibility. One thing that bothers me is that it does not seem definitive whether Foschida did in fact travel to Rome at that time. Thanks again for your help and input on this!
  7. There are generally no records on the number of medals produced, and I should clarify that I did not mean to imply that this was the only specimen created. The motivation behind creating medals was that they were easily reproducible, and could even be reproduced from another example (aftercasts). I am sure multiple examples of this medal were produced, but this is (possibly) the only surviving example. Of course, there are so many items locked up in museums and other collections around the world that I would not be surprised if one day another example is found.
  8. Actually, I had not come across that man, thanks very much for pointing him out! I had been excited to find out that Armellini had been in Rome at the time that Camelio was there, but I will continue to do more research now on Foschida. Thanks again!
  9. I acquired this medal a few months ago, and have been trying to find out more information about it. I think I have reached the limit (for now) on what I can discover, and am thus posting my current thoughts, but I would welcome any input that any of the members here might have. Bronze, 43.4mm Ø, 36.9 g Obverse: Bust of Girolamo da Faenza facing right, wearing habit and cappuccio. Around, M · HIERO · FAVENT · PRECO · ET · LVCERNA · FIDEI · . Reverse: Personification of Religion standing facing and holding a torch in her right hand. To the left, Mary Magdalene holding a chalice and to the right St. John standing with hands together in prayer. Around, HEC · VIA · AMBVLATE · IN · EA . This medal is presumably unique and is lacking from all major references except one. The only reference that I am able to find is in the comprehensive catalogue of 16th century Italian medals compiled by Giuseppe Toderi and Fiorenza Vannel, "Le Medaglie Italiane del XVI Secolo", for which this specimen is the plate medal (cat. no. 612). They assign the medal to the years of c. 1513-1516. Unfortunately, no doubt due to its rarity, information regarding it is greatly lacking when compared to other Renaissance medals which have been catalogued. The medal is lacking from Hill's inimitable corpus of Italian Renaissance medals, covering the period of medallic art in Italy up to roughly 1530. Originally published in 1930, Hill's "A Corpus of Italian Medals of the Renaissance before Cellini" remains the standard for medals of that period, and was reprinted with some updates and commentary by John Graham Pollard in 1984. Toderi and Vannel (T&V) identify the subject of the medal only as Girolamo da Faenza, no doubt based on the obverse inscription. However, they provide no background about this person, lamenting that no further information as to his identity is available which could aid in the attribution of the medal to a particular artist. However, I believe that the subject is Girolamo di Gianfrancesco Armellini da Faenza, an inquisitor and member of the Dominican order. He was ordained a priest roughly in mid-1494 and at some point after his studies was appointed vicar to the inquisitor of Mantua, Domenico Pirri da Gargnano. He served in this role until roughly 1518, except for a break for the academic year of 1512-1513, when he was appointed as master of studies in Bologna. He was then inquisitor of Parma from 1518-1526 and inquisitor of Mantua from 1531-1540. He is last recorded as theological lector in the convent of Sant'Andrea in Faenza in 1549-1550. The identification of the subject as the inquisitor Girolamo di Gianfrancesco Armellini da Faenza (or inquisitorial vicar, as he would have been at the time of T&V's dating of the medal) fits with the portrait depiction on the obverse, showing a man in friar's clothing. T&V do not provide full expansions of the inscriptions, nor translations, and I have been unable to determine what the leading "M" would stand for in the obverse inscription. I believe that the remainder of the obverse inscription would expand to HIERONYMUS FAVENTIA PRAECO ET LUCERNA FIDEI, which would then translate to "Girolamo of Faenza, Herald and Lamp of Faith". This too would seem to fit for one who is in the inquisitorial business. The reverse inscription similarly fits the proposed subject. It can be expanded to HAEC EST VIA AMBULATE IN EA, which would then translate as "This Is the Way, Walk Ye In It". This comes from from Isaiah 30:21; "Et aures tuae audient verbum post tergum monentis: Haec est via; ambulate in ea, et non declinetis neque ad dexteram, neque ad sinistram." (And thy ears shall hear the word of one admonishing thee behind thy back: This is the way, walk ye in it: and go not aside neither to the right hand, nor to the left.) Returning to the issue of attribution, T&V attribute this medal, with reservations, to Vittore di Antonio Gambello, called Camelio. This attribution is based upon comparison with the medals typically attributed to Camelio during his time in Rome. Born in Venice, Camelio is recorded in 1484 as being master of the dies for the Venetian mint. He left for Rome in 1510 after a reduction in his salary due to the financial crisis in Venice resulting from war. While in Rome, he was appointed for life as engraver to the papal mint on June 24, 1515. However, he returned to his post in Venice in 1516 and worked there until 1530. Toderi and Vannel lament that no further information about the person portrayed can be used to help assert the attribution of Camelio as the artist. However, if we accept the identification of the subject proposed above, an interesting tidbit becomes known. During his time as inquisitorial vicar of Mantua, Armellini journeyed to Rome in 1511 to represent Pirri at a commission. This places him in Rome during the time in which Camelio was there, and could help to possibly date the medal to slightly earlier than the period posited by T&V. I would be interested to hear the thoughts or opinions of anyone else that might be able to provide further information.
  10. Very nice! That's an impressive little collection of Ambrogi medallions that you are putting together!
  11. Nice medal, and it's always interesting to compare one's piece with other plated examples. If I may just make a couple of add-on comments to your discussion of using diameters to determine age. Firstly, using the overall diameters is typically not the best comparison, as they can tend to not be perfectly round, and the distance between devices and the border can vary. Because of this, the recommended practice is to use the measurement of a design element (for example, the height of the bust). Unfortunately, most references do not provide this information (I believe Boerner is one of the few exceptions). Secondly, a later cast made from an original can have a larger diameter than older cast made from an earlier aftercast.
  12. It's great the see the medallion side by side with the book illustration. Congratulations again on a great acquisition!
  13. A couple of papal medals, created just over 100 years apart, which nicely bookend the beginning and near completion of the construction of the new St. Peter's basilica. Julius II, 1506 by Cristoforo Foppa Caradosso Gilt Bronze, 56.5 mm Ø, 52.3 g Obverse: Bust of Julius II facing right, bareheaded and wearing a cope decorated with arabesques and icons. Around, IVLIVS · LIGVR · PAPA · SECVNDVS · MCCCCCVI (Julius II, Ligurian, Pope, 1506). Reverse: A shepherd, seated on a stone under an oak tree, pointing his flock of sheep towards a path leading to a gateway to an enclosure on a mountain. Around, PEDO SERVATAS OVES AD REQVIEM AGO (The sheep that were preserved by the staff I lead to their repose). Julius II (born Giuliano della Rovere) undertook to rebuild the original St. Peter's Basilica which had been erected by the emperor Constantine. Ideas had been considered during the pontificate of Nicholas V for renovating the original structure, which had fallen into ruinous shape, but Julius decided to entirely demolish it and construct a new basilica. The design and construction was entrusted to the architect Donato Bramante, who drew plans for a Greek style (square) church topped by a large dome. The first stone was laid by Julius during a ceremony on April 18, 1506. Construction on the basilica would proceed for over a century, passing through the hands and many architects and popes. In the end, the final basilica retains virtually nothing of Bramante's original design. This is a sister medal to the more famous version showing Bramante's design for the new basilica. Modesti suggests that the version showing the building was created to serve as the foundation medal, while this version with an allegorical representation was intended to be distributed in commemoration of the laying of the first stone. The reverse illustration can be viewed as the Pope (represented by the shepherd) indicating to the faithful (the sheep) the new erection of the basilica on the Vatican Hill. The staff referred to in the reverse inscription takes on the dual meaning of a shepherd's staff and a pastoral staff. That the shepherd represents the Pope is further reinforced by the oak tree under which he sits, which is a symbol of the della Rovere family of which Julius was from. The Italian word "rovere" literally means "oak tree". Provenance: From the collection of Michael Hall. Paul V, 1608 by Paolo Sanquirico Bronze, 56.8 mm Ø, 59.2 g Obverse: Bust of Paul V facing right, bareheaded, wearing a decorative cope featuring a standing saint. Around, PAVLVS · V · BVRGHESIVS ROM · PONT · MAX · A · S · M · DC · VIII · PONT · III · (Paul V Borghese, Supreme Roman Pontiff, In the Year of Thanks 1608, the Third Year of His Pontificate). Beneath the bust, P · SANQVIRIC · . Reverse: Frontal view of the façade of St. Peter's Basilica. Above, TEM · D · PETRI · - IN · VATICANO (The Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican). Below, in exergue, ET · PORTAE · INFERI · NON / PRAEVALEBVNT (And the gates of hell shall not prevail). One of the first tasks Paul V (born Camillo Borghese) undertook was to complete the new Saint Peter's Basilica, which had been under construction for over 100 years, the first foundation stone being laid in 1506. Carlo Maderno was appointed as the architect charged with completing the structure. The two main tasks included designing an extension the nave of the church (forming a Latin cross instead of the Greek cross from Michelangelo's plans) and designing the façade for the grand structure. Unfortunately, the extension of the nave destroyed the view of the front of the church. On February 10, 1608, the first stone of the façade was blessed by the pope and ceremoniously laid into place. This is the foundation medal for the façade of the new Saint Peter's Basilica. The reverse illustrates the planned design for the façade by the architect Carlo Maderno. Though the view on the medal might be correct from a purely orthographic projection, the actual view from in front of the basilica finds the two small side domes completely obscured and the large central dome nearly so. The exergual inscription on the reverse is taken from Matthew 16:18; Et ego dico tibi: Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam; et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversum eam (And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it). Provenance: From the collection of Francesco Calveri. Plate medal for Corpus Numismatum Omnium Romanorum Pontificum (C.N.O.R.P.), Volume IV: da Sisto V (1585-1590) a Paolo V (1605-1621) by Adolfo Modesti [n. 1047].
×
×
  • Create New...