Costanzo Sforza, 1447-1483, Lord of Pesaro 1473 [obverse]

1475

Gianfrancesco Enzola

Associated Names
Gianfrancesco Enzola

Artist, Parmese, active 1455/1478

The sculpture is a profile portrait of a person facing left. The individual has a distinct hairstyle with short, wavy hair that is detailed with fine incisions. The person is wearing detailed armor or robe with intricate patterns visible on the shoulder and neckline. The sculpture is a circular medallion or relief made from a material resembling metal with a bronze or copper hue. There is an inscription along the circular edge of the medallion. The sculpture's form is flat and round, resembling a coin or medallion, with highly defined details.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    lead//After-cast

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (diameter): 7.99 cm (3 1/8 in.)
    gross weight: 205.94 gr (0.454 lb.)
    axis: 12:00

  • Accession Number

    1957.14.688.a

Associated Artworks

The relief on the circular medal or coin shows a figure in armor riding a rearing horse. The figure wears a plumed helmet. A dog runs in the foreground. The background includes hills, trees, and a castle. The image is bordered by text in mixed characters. The material seems metallic, likely silver, and appears tarnished.

Costanzo Riding in the Country [reverse]

Gianfrancesco Enzola

1475

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

Bibliography

1883

  • Armand, Alfred. Les médailleurs italiens des quinzième et seizième siècles. 2nd ed. 3 vols. Paris, 1883-1887: 1:45, no. 10.

1930

  • Hill, George Francis. A Corpus of Italian Medals of the Renaissance before Cellini. 2 vols. London, 1930: no. 292.

1931

  • Hill, George Francis. The Gustave Dreyfus Collection: Renaissance Medals. Oxford, 1931: no. 95.

1951

  • National Gallery of Art. Renaissance Bronzes: Statuettes, Reliefs and Plaquettes, Medals and Coins from the Kress Collection. Introduction by Perry B. Cott. Washington, 1951: 166.

1967

  • Hill, George Francis, and Graham Pollard. Renaissance Medals from the Samuel H. Kress Collection at the National Gallery of Art. London, 1967: no. 95.

2007

  • Pollard, John Graham. Renaissance Medals. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. 2 vols. Washington, 2007: 1:no. 138, repro.

Inscriptions

around circumference: CONSTANTIVS SFORTIA DE ARAGONIA DI[vi] ALEXAN[dri] SFOR[tiae] FIL[ius] PISAVRENS[is] PRINCEPSAETATIS AN[no] XXVII

Wikidata ID

Q63847610

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