Crowned Shield [reverse]

1494/1500

Milanese 15th Century

Associated Names
Milanese 15th Century

Artist

This is a photograph of an old coin. The image shows a circular metal coin with intricate detailing. The center of the coin features a shield divided into four quarters, with various symbols in each quarter. Above the shield is a crown and around it are decorative elements including foliage. The edge of the coin has inscribed text in an old-style font, encircling the shield and crowning design. The texture of the coin suggests it is made from a metal material.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    silver testoon//Struck

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (diameter): 2.75 cm (1 1/16 in.)
    gross weight: 9.68 gr (0.021 lb.)
    axis: 10:00

  • Accession Number

    1957.14.1249.b

Associated Artworks

The image shows a coin with a side profile of a person's head and upper shoulders. The individual is facing to the right with visible facial features, including a nose and chin. The hair is long and wavy, flowing down to the base of the neck, and the attire features a high collar. Surrounding the portrait is an inscribed border. The background is plain and dark, emphasizing the silver-colored coin and its engraved details.

Lodovico Maria Sforza, called il Moro, 1451-1508, 7th Duke of Milan 1494-1500 [obverse]

Milanese 15th Century

1494

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Gustave Dreyfus [1837-1914], Paris; his heirs; purchased with the entire Dreyfus collection 9 July 1930 by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris); sold 31 January 1944 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[1] gift 1957 to NGA.
[1] The Duveen Brothers Records document the firm’s sixteen year pursuit and eventual acquisition of the Dreyfus collection, which included paintings, sculptures, small bronzes, medals, and plaquettes. Bequeathed as part of his estate to Dreyfus’ widow and five children (a son and four daughters), who had differing opinions about its disposition, the collection was not sold until after his widow’s death in April 1929. Duveen did not wish to separate Dreyfus’ collection of small bronzes, medals, and plaquettes, and it was sold intact to the Kress Foundation for a price that was met by installment payments every three months. (Duveen Brothers Records, accession number 960015, Research Library, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles: reel 301, box 446, folders 3 and 4; reel 302, box 447, folders 1-6; reel 303, box 448, folders 1 and 2; reel 330, box 475, folder 4.) See also George Francis Hill’s discussion "A Note on Pedigrees" in his catalogue, The Gustave Dreyfus Collection: Renaissance Medals, Oxford, 1931: xii, which was commissioned by Duveen Brothers.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1988

  • The Sforza Court: Milan in the Renaissance, 1450-1535, Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery, The University of Texas, Austin; University Art Museum, University of California at Berkeley; Yale University, New Haven, 1988-1989, no. 100.

Bibliography

2007

  • fJohn Graham Pollard. Renaissance Medals. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. 2 vols. Washington, 2007: 2:no. 794, repro.

Inscriptions

around circumference: PP ANGLEQ3 CO AC IANVE D 7C

Markings

Mint-mark, head of St. Ambrose

Wikidata ID

Q63854359

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