Venus and Mars [reverse], probably 1490/1520

Not on View

Medium

bronze//Originally gilded

Dimensions

overall (diameter): 4.05 cm (1 5/8 in.)
gross weight: 31.13 gr (0.069 lb.)
axis: 7:00

Credit Line

Samuel H. Kress Collection

Accession Number

1957.14.667.b

Artists / Makers

Anonymous Artist (artist)

Antico (related artist) Mantuan, c. 1460 - 1528

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Inscription

around circumference: VENER ET MARS VICTOR

Provenance

Oskar Hainauer [1840-1894], Berlin; by inheritance to his widow, Julie Hainauer [1850-1926], Berlin; purchased 1906 with the entire Hainauer collection by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris); sold to Gustave Dreyfus [1837-1914], Paris; his heirs; purchased 9 July 1930 with the entire Dreyfus collection 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

Dreyfus, Gustave
Duveen Brothers, Inc.
Hainauer, Julie
Hainauer, Oskar
Kress Foundation, Samuel H.

Bibliography

1908: A Cabinet of One Hundred & Thirty-Three Bronze Plaques and Medals of the Renaissance Period from the Collection of the Late Herr Oscar Hainauer of Berlin. Ed. Duveen Brothers. London, n.d. (but 1908): no. 97, repro.

2007: Pollard, John Graham. Renaissance Medals. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. 2 vols. Washington, 2007: 1:no.116, repro.