Inscription in a Wreath [reverse]

c. 1473-1474

Lysippus Junior

Associated Names
Lysippus Junior

Artist, Roman, active c. 1470 - 1484

The image shows a circular medallion with engraved text in the center. The text reads "PREVENIT AE TATEM INGENIVM PRECOX." The medallion appears to be made of metal with a green and brown patina, resembling bronze. There is a small hole at the top of the medallion. Surrounding the text is a pattern that resembles a woven or braided design. The edges have repeated impressions for texture. The size of the medallion is not definitively clear in the image, but it appears to be handheld.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (diameter): 7.3 cm (2 7/8 in.)
    gross weight: 103.63 gr (0.228 lb.)
    axis: 12:00

  • Accession Number

    1957.14.815.b

Associated Artworks

The sculpture is a circular medallion or coin featuring a profile portrait of a man facing left. The man is wearing a cap with a short brim and a band wrapped around it. The sculpture is bronze in color, suggesting it is made from a metal like bronze or copper. The surface shows signs of patina. Surrounding the portrait is an inscription in capital letters that reads "IOHANNES ALOISIVS TVSCANVS ADVOCATVS." There is a small round hole near the top edge, possibly for suspension. The subject’s facial features and the inscription show detailed craftsmanship.

Giovanni Alvise Toscani, c. 1450-1478, Milanese Jurisconsult, Consistorial Advocate, and Auditor General under Pope Sixtus IV [obverse]

Lysippus Junior

1473


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. 253, repro.

Inscriptions

across center: PREVENIT AETATEM INGENIVM PRECOX

Wikidata ID

Q63847674

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