SYNOPSIS OF THE CONTENTS OF THE B R I T I S H M U S E U M . DEPARTMENT OF I AN D ME D L C O N S A S . A G U I D E TO THE I T A L I A N M E D A L S xxmnm nl m K NG ’ S LIBRARY I . FIRET EDI TI ON . K E A R Y C F. M. A . F. S . A . , , L O N D O N : PRIN TED BY ORDER OF THE TR ’ USTEES . LONGMANS 8: Co. Pate noste Row B. UABITCH 15 Pi ccad , r r ; Q , , illy A . ABB ER 85 Co . 1 3 Bedford S ree Covent Gar en and at erli n , , t t, d , B ; B 57 and 59 Lud a TBfi N EB Co. , , g te Hill; 0. Ro ma ! 8: FEUARDE NT 6 1 G eat Russel S ree 8: 4 Rue de Lo uvoi s Paris , , r l t t, , , . THE Italian Medals described in this Guide have bee n selected from the collection in the British Museum for exhi bition on account of their artistic and hi storical K ’ interest . They are exhibited in the ing s Library in ases C D . s s s i s the c marked , In the e ca e each medal separately labelled and numbered in correspondence with ld te the descriptions in the Guide . Specimens in go are s s s i s pre ented by electrotype , and pec men in lead by plaster casts coloured so as to resemble the originals . s hi s s s e i s i the The chief intere t of t erie b ing art t c, Introduction gives a. brief sketch of the history of the f medallic art in Italy . Special in ormation concerning the artists and the emi nent persons portrayed on the s is ff od so far as medal a orded in the b y of the work , the s all s . E c i s s its pace ow a h medal de cribed, and metal di nsi s s t s s wi and me on in inche and ten h tated, th other ul n i i partic ars eedful for its i dent ficat on . The larger edition of this Guide i s illustrated by seven plates executed by the Autotype process from casts in as s s i s s pl ter, and each ub equent ed tion will pre ent a fre h set s i h as s n of plate , unt l the whole exhibition thu bee d di si z reproduce . The great vergence in the e of the Itali an medals makes it impossible to arrange them in a continuous series on the plates . They have therefore — ll s s s s Pls . I III s been i u trated in three uch erie , repre ent s th Pls . V ing medal reduced to half eir actual diameter, IV , , meda s e to e - e s ctu i te l reduc d thr e quart r of their a al d ame r, Pl i s z . s . s and VI , VII , medal in the r actual i e REGINALD ST ART P LE U OO . 3 43 1 6 1 . CONTENTS . ’ Enrros s PREFACE INTRODUCTION PART I. MEDALS or FIFT EENTH m y ARRA GE U ER ART T A . N D ND IS S PER O A 1-AL s B . S N L ART II MEDA r THE srx 'rs m n P . LS o am our ARRANGED UNDER B PERSONAL - AL S . C . Vm ovs 1-AL s ms PART III. PAPAL ss s I TR D I N N O UCT O . THE exhi bition of Italian medals i s divided into three s s 1 s fiftee n th n ur erie , containing ( ) the medal of the ce t y, 2 s s 3 s s ( ) tho e of the ixteenth century, and ( ) a Papal erie ' giving the portraits of most of the pon ti fis who sat in the t chair of S . Peter between the termination of the Great s E Schi m and the end of the seventeenth century . ach of first s s i s n s v o s the two erie agai ubdi ided int two other , the one arran ged under the medallists and designed to i s d ll llu trate the me a ic art of that time , the other giving the portraits of indi viduals co ncerning most of whom something i s w r s e A kno n of a biog aphical or hi torical int rest . t the end of the medals of the sixteenth century are arranged a fin s s number of e example of the art of thi period , of which r n s s the autho ship i s unknown . Regardi g thi divi ion of d s n sts s s w l the me al u der arti and into per onal medal , it il easily be see n that very many pieces cannot of right belong exclusively to either class : many medals which are e s chi efl as s s l int re ting y the work of a medalli t, di p ay s s s s likewi e important hi torical portrait , and other piece , s l chi efl for s s e ected y the ake of the portrait upon them , are signed by an artist and therefore serve to farther l s hi s il u trate s special work . To aid the tudent in obtain i n i ss i field u g all the informat on po ible in e ther of inq iry , s i th e 1 s indexe are g ven at end , containing ) a li t of all the artists whose signatures appear upon t e medals e x hi e f e s me s so s to t s bit d, with re erenc to the dal igned and ho e other pieces which can with reasonable probability be refe rred to them ; (2) a list of all the persons represented s 3 l s s the s on the medal ; ( ) a i t of the event , in ca e of the I s s fe w i talian erie but very , wh ch are recorded upon the s s d sts medal . Biographical notice of the me alli are placed viii INTRODUCTION . ef sc s d s i n b ore the de ription of the me al made by them , s s s s bi o ra h ical s the erie arranged under arti t , and g notice of th e pe rsons represented follow (generally the de scri p s tions of their medal . ss s n The nece itie of arrangement , which require attentio to the appearance of the exhi bition as a whole— as for example the desirability of not placing the fin est pieces s l r where they would be ill een , or ofa lowing compa atively o s s fin e st p or pecimen to intervene between the , or again of bavin g small medals continually altern ati n g with large ones— make it impossible to display the medals strictly i n accordance with chronological order . But with the help of th e f f s as as i ollowing pre atory remark , well w th that of th e hi s s difficult t biograp cal notice and indexe , any y tha w might thus arise ill be removed . art s The medallic of Italy, like mo t of the art of the R i ss was ena ance, in intention a revival of that of ancient R s an d ai n ti n ome, but in common with culpture p g it o first an i n t ok , at , at y rate , a quite or ginal and natio al h was c aracter, and though imitative in general intention not so in execution or detail The earliest known Italian s s r 1 390 r re s ec medal were t uck in , at Padua, and bo e p ti vel o s e s il r y the p rtrait of Franc co Vecchio , lo d of Padua , hi ss and of Francesco Novello s son . They are cla ical in ‘ style though the inscriptions are in Gothi c letters . The Venetians likewi se made proofs for medals in the years 1 393 and s s are ui . The e piece , however, q te exceptional The continuous series of the Renaissance medals begins s s i s with tho e of Vittore Pi ano , who not only the father of i n a a art ts e s . Itali n med llic , but great t expo ent The ’ first ar Dr s following list taken from the p t of . Friedlander Italienische Schaumunzen gives a chronological view of the w 1 1 53 s arti sts who orked between 439 and 0. The date given are th e years during which we know them to have produced ed s s s s s s m al the name , if tho e of arti t otherwi e known , are i v m s r st i s g en their u ual fo m , but if an arti unknown sav fr ls i s e om the meda , the name printed in the form which i r s t bears upon these wo k .