Fortune with Sail, on a Dolphin [reverse]

1500 or after

Style of Niccolò Fiorentino

Associated Names
Niccolò Fiorentino

Related Artist, Florentine, 1430 - 1514

The sculpture is depicted on a circular medallion and features a nude human figure as its subject. The figure holds a large flowing element above its head with both hands. The medallion is a rich reddish-brown color with lighter highlights, indicating a metal finish, possibly bronze. The surface has intricate details carved into it, with a mix of polished and rough areas. The edge of the medallion is adorned with inscribed text. The sculpture appears to be an object meant for holding or display.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (diameter): 8.92 cm (3 1/2 in.)
    gross weight: 223.24 gr (0.492 lb.)
    axis: 12:00

  • Accession Number

    1957.14.888.b

Associated Artworks

The image shows a sculptural medallion featuring a portrait in profile of a man facing to the right. The subject is depicted with long, wavy hair and is wearing a cap. The man’s facial features are finely detailed, including a prominent nose and pronounced cheekbones. The medallion is made of a dark, bronze-colored material, which gives it an antique appearance. Surrounding the portrait is an inscription in raised letters along the edge of the circular medallion.

Gianozzo di Bernardo Salviati, born 1462 [obverse]

Anonymous Artist

1500


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

1989

  • Nickel, Helmut. "Of Dragons, Basilisks, and the Arms of the Seven Kings of Rome." Metropolitan Museum Journal 24 (1989): 31, fig. 17.

2007

  • Pollard, John Graham. Renaissance Medals. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. 2 vols. Washington, 2007: 1:no. 331, repro.

Inscriptions

around right circumference: ARIDEAT VSQVE

Wikidata ID

Q63847919

You may be interested in

Loading Results