Constancy Holding a Staff and Resting on a Column [reverse]

c. 1470/1475

Cristoforo di Geremia

Associated Names
Cristoforo di Geremia

Artist, Roman, active 1456 - 1476

The sculpture on this coin features a classical feminine figure. She stands with a draped cloth covering her body and holds a staff in her left hand. Her right arm is raised while she leans against a column. The sculpture has a bronze or copper finish, giving it a reddish-brown hue with a textured surface. The figure is detailed, emphasizing the fabric folds and body contours. Below the figure is the word "CONSTANTIA" inscribed.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (diameter): 6.09 cm (2 3/8 in.)
    gross weight: 112.62 gr (0.248 lb.)
    axis: 12:00

  • Accession Number

    1957.14.808.b

Associated Artworks

The sculpture is a medallion featuring the profile of a man's head. The subject is an older male with a bald head and distinctive facial features, depicted in a profile view facing to the right. The material of the medallion is a metallic substance with a bronze-like coloration. Around the edge of the medallion, there is an inscription in a Latin-like language. The details of the face and the inscription suggest precise craftsmanship. The medallion is shown against a black background. The artwork, with its size similar to a large coin, seems reminiscent of historical commemorative pieces.

Paolo I Dotti of Padua, General of Militia of Vincenza 1289 [obverse]

Cristoforo di Geremia

1470


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

2007

  • Pollard, John Graham. Renaissance Medals. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. 2 vols. Washington, 2007: 1:no. 244, repro.

Inscriptions

across bottom: CONSTANTIA

Wikidata ID

Q63847522

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