Casts of Medals - In Need of Help

[YeOldeCollector]

I recently acquired what appears to be a lot of six Victorian resin casts of medals/medalettes. They appear all to be Classical in influence but I cannot pinpoint their origin. Any help would be greatly appreciated. These are all concave, by the way - it's like the hollow-mask illusion all over again.

 

Cast #1.

 

3.5cm long and 3cm wide.

 

 

 

Cast #2.

 

3cm long and 1.5cm wide.

 

 

 

Cast #3.

 

4.3cm long and 2.9cm wide. What looks like Phaeton and his chariot.

 

 

 

Cast #4.

 

3.2cm long and 2.5cm wide. I thought it was Dionysus but the lizard and stars have thrown me, as has the object he's holding.

 

 

 

Cast #5. I'm presuming Bellona.

 

2.8cm long and 2cm wide.

 

 

 

Cast #6.

 

2.3cm long and 1.9cm wide. Salus Publica clearly visible with the classic crossed legs and leaning elbow accompanied with a snake.

 

[jlueke]

The first one looks reall cool. He appears to have a shield with the constellations on it and the zodiac around the edge.

[constanius]

Great acquisitions Clive, here is the link you need to identify them, I locate the first one you will enjoy the search for the rest. They are Tassie impressions, or similar, of intaglio seals.

 

http://www.beazley.o...rnPage=&start=0

 

 

40009130, Edinburgh Tassie, 3122, A BUST OF A WARRIOR (ACHILLES?), A FILLET IN HIS HAIR, WITH A SHIELD DECORATED WITH SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC AND A SPEAR, Frewin, Fitzwilliam Manuscript Catalogue, X7

 

EDIT Looking closer at them, they are not identical, there are some slight differences between them.

[YeOldeCollector]

Thank you so much, Pat! I've had a quick glance at the Tassie Gems here but shall delve into it further this evening in order to identify these. Any idea of the date of my pieces, then?

[constanius]

James Tassie (1735-1799) was the most prolific collector and merchant of impressions of classical gems of the eighteenth century, providing sets and selections of impressions in a variety of materials. His collection is the most comprehensive of its day. Its 15,800 items were classified and described by Erich Raspe, and the catalogue printed in 1791 in English and French: A Descriptive Catalogue of a General Collection of Ancient and Modern Engraved Gems, Cameos and Intaglios, Taken from the Most Celebrated Cabinets in Europe; and Cast in Coloured Pastes, White Enamel, and Sulphur.

 

They look pretty old to me Clive, though your guess is as good as mine

 

Intaglios are concave seals, thus impressions taken from them are convex, ergo the ones you have must be impressions taken from the impressions of intaglios. Still could be early 1800's or by Tassie himself.

 

With that in mind here is the right match, convex, with the head facing the otherway as it should. Bear that in mind when looking for the others and good hunting.

 

http://www.beazley.o...38-ACE691766CA9

 

 

• Reference Number: 3119
  
• Description: A BUST OF A WARRIOR (ACHILLES?), A FILLET IN HIS HAIR, WITH A SHIELD DECORATED WITH SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC AND A SPEAR
  
• Signature: Frewin
  
• Collection Record: Fitzwilliam Manuscript Catalogue: X7
  Unpublished Tassie: TRAY 49.1
  
• Material: Cornelian
  
• Comments: ATTRIBUTED IN MANUSCRIPT
  

If you find any that are not listed this is the person to contact http://www.beazley.o...ople/wagner.htm she is a sweet lady, I had occassion to contact her once before because I noticed they had the same Tassie listed with 2 different numbers, she not only replied but took the time to look through my medals on Omnicoin & complimented me on my collection.

[bill]

I believe places like the British Museum made similar casts as study pieces for collectors, researchers, artists, etc. in the 1800s. I'd start with trying to track down the originals (assuming not all are in the Tassie collection) to determine a source for the casts.

[YeOldeCollector]

I've found number 3.

 

 

1103, APOLLO IN A CHARIOT IN THE CLOUDS, EROS WITH A TORCH ABOVE

 

• Reference Number: 1103
  
• Description: APOLLO IN A CHARIOT IN THE CLOUDS, EROS WITH A TORCH ABOVE
  
• Collection Record: Unpublished Tassie: TRAY 17.2
  

 

 

.

 

 

The others are a bit more elusive and I'll do some more searching of this fantastic database over the next few days. Thank you so much for the point in the right direction, Pat!

[constanius]

Spoiler alert, Clive, do not click the link if you would like to find #4 yourself.

 

 

http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/40B464A7-E39E-4C63-9B39-2759ABA17EFA

[YeOldeCollector]

Spoiler alert, Clive, do not click the link if you would like to find #4 yourself.

 

 

http://www.beazley.o...39-2759ABA17EFA

 

Thanks, Pat. Every time I typed 371 in it said that there was no description attached to the record. So I'm very glad to have this courtesy of you as all I had was the plate, thank you!

[constanius]

Image courtersy of the © Trustees of the British Museumhttp://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_image.aspx?objectId=3369034&partId=1&searchText=HARPOKRATES+lotus&fromADBC=ad&toADBC=ad&titleSubject=on&physicalAttribute=on&productionInfo=on&orig=%2fresearch%2fsearch_the_collection_database.aspx&images=on&numPages=10&currentPage=1&asset_id=1001510

 

This was acquired by the British Museum in 1814 and they date the drawing to 1765-1805.

[YeOldeCollector]

Thanks, Pat! This is proving to be a most interesting endeavour.

[constanius]

Hi Clive, I noticed #6 was signed MARCHANT FEC. the above are extracts from Forrer, notice--Salus, carnelian;

Is #2 also signed MARCHANT? Pat.

 

http://www.scribd.com/Farlang/d/19727748-A-Catalogue-of-One-Hundred-Impressions-From-Gems-by-James-Edwards-James

[YeOldeCollector]

Hi Clive, I noticed #6 was signed MARCHANT FEC. the above are extracts from Forrer, notice--Salus, carnelian;

Is #2 also signed MARCHANT? Pat.

 

http://www.scribd.co...s-Edwards-James

 

Pat, you continue to astound me with your knowledge and it is, of course, much appreciated. #2 is signed MARCHANT and #6 is signed MARCHANT FEC, I presume for 'fecit'. However, I notice that #3 appears to be signed by Brown.

 

So these could be casts of Marchant's work? Rather than his original impressions? I read that Marchant was an engraver at the Royal Mint to make models for the likes of Wyon and he engraved seals for the king. This is fascinating stuff.

[constanius]

So these could be casts of Marchant's work? Rather than his original impressions?

 

Yes, Marchant cut gem intaglios(signed them so it was clear that it was his work, and not ancient intaglios)), using ancient Roman statues as inspiration for much of his work, then made casts of the intaglios for sale to collectors.

This intaglio gem of Isis was originally produced in Chalcedony for Prince Poniatowski. As stated below, the Head of Isis was inspired by a statue. Then Marchant took impressions from this to sell to other collectors.

 

He also produced gem intaglios of some of his contemporaries and also sold cast of these to collectors. People subscribed to the collection, the Prince Regent had 3 subscriptions. From the link http://www.scribd.co...s-Edwards-James in my last post, the extract below is just the start of a very long list of subscribers.

[YeOldeCollector]

Thanks so much, Pat. You have been more than helpful. So instead of acquiring what I thought were late Victorian souvenirs I actually have original casts produced by Marchant in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Splendid stuff!

[constanius]

Looking at the list of subscribers you are part of a pretty elite group!

 

Wonderful buy Clive, great history too, I am happy to have been able to share some of the fun with you in discovering about the impressions.

[YeOldeCollector]

Looking at the list of subscribers you are part of a pretty elite group!

 

Wonderful buy Clive, great history too, I am happy to have been able to share some of the fun with you in discovering about the impressions.

 

To think the seller had about six groups of these and I only bought one.

 

But seriously, thanks, Pat. These are things I'm going to try and acquire more of and it's mainly thanks to your help!

[YeOldeCollector]

It also makes sense now as Tassie was on his list of subscribers.

[YeOldeCollector]

Here's another.

 

[constanius]

Another nice find Clive. It is

The forge of Vulcan, who works the armour of Mars. https://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/XDB/ASP/recordDetailsLarge.asp?recordCount=36&id={51C4EE77-4D01-4300-919A-5A57B862BB77}&returnPage=&start=0

 

 

[YeOldeCollector]

Thanks, Pat. That's brilliant - here's a permanent link for those interested.

[Ian]

I missed out on this thread first time round. Yet another area I never even knew existed, at least not to this extent! absolutely fascinating.

 

I never cease to be impressed by your sleuthing abilities Mr Constanius. i define intelligence in terms of knowing how to find what you need to know. You certainly manage to dig out the detail.

 

Nice items you have there Clive. I'm even a wee bit envious........... nice finds indeed.

[YeOldeCollector]

Nice items you have there Clive. I'm even a wee bit envious........... nice finds indeed.

 

Not bad for £3.

 

 

 

Also, I must agree about Pat - he never fails to astound me.

[Drusus]

One word about these worksof art....stunning

 

For 3 pounds!?!?!

 

Constantius, I too am impressed with your resourcefulness