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French Medal - Maria Magdalena of Austria by Guillaume Dupré

Maria Magdalena of Austria

Work of Guillaume Dupré, 1613


Lead, 97.2 mm Ø, 77.3 g

Obverse: Bust of Maria Magdalena facing left, with elaborate hairstyle, wearing open ruff, intricate lace collar, and jewels. Around, MAR · MAGDALENÆ · ARCH · AVSTR · MAG · D · ETR (Maria Magdalena, Archduchess of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany). Under truncation, GDP 1613 .

Maria Magdalena of Austria (1589-1631) was the youngest daughter of Karl II, Archduke of Inner Austria, and his wife Maria Anna of Bavaria. She married Cosimo II de' Medici (1590-1621) in 1608, and together they would have eight children. Cosimo II succeeded his father to become Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1609 until his passing. His mother, Christina of Lorraine, and Maria Magdalena would then act as regents for the new grand duke, the ten-year-old Ferdinando II. Pollard notes that Maria Magdalena was portrayed in similar court dress and with the same heavy necklace in an anonymous painting from her time as a widow. This medal was created during Dupré's visit to Florence in 1613, where he also made large uniface portrait medals of Cosimo II de' Medici, Christina of Lorraine, and Cosimo's brother Francesco.

Provenance: Ex Ernst Otto Horn collection

References: cf. Jones 1988, no. 44 (obverse); Pollard 2007, no. 643

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This piece nicely complements the medal below of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini which was already in my collection, created by Dupré the previous year during his trip through Italy:

Cardinal Maffeo Barberini

Work of Guillaume Dupré, 1612


Bronze, 92 mm Ø, 44.7 g

Obverse: Bust of Maffeo Barberini facing right, wearing a biretta and hooded cassock. Within two inscribed circles, MAPH · S · R · E · P · CAR · BARBERIN · SIG · IVST · PRÆ · BONO · LEG (Maffeo, Priest of the Holy Roman Church, Cardinal Barberini, Chancellor and Legate of Bologna). Beneath the truncation, G DVPRE · F 1612 .

Maffeo Barberini was born in April of 1568 in Florence, but was raised by his uncle in Rome after his father's death. He was educated by the Jesuits and studied law at the University of Pisa. In 1601, Pope Clement VIII appointed him as papal legate to the court of Henry IV in France in order to present congratulations on the birth of the dauphin. He was appointed as Archbishop of Nazareth in 1604 and was sent as nuncio to Paris. Pope Paul V elevated him to the cardinalate on September 11, 1606. He was further appointed as papal legate to Bologna in August of 1611. This portrait medal was executed while Dupré was traveling through Italy, with Bologna being on the path of Dupré's journey from Venice to Florence. On August 6, 1623, Barberini was elected pope and took the name of Urban VIII.

References: cf. Johnson 1990, no. 133 (reverse); Jones 1988, no. 40

Comments

  • STLNATSSTLNATS Posts: 1,597 ✭✭✭

    Great medals Joe. For some reason the lead and other "base" medals always fascinate; I guess I'm just more used to AE and ARs. In this condition, the softer metal seems to show all of the detail to great effect. I gather from the comment in the Maria write up that they are both uniface. I also like the tie of the two medals to Dupré's traveling adding more context to the pieces.

    Congrats and thanks for sharing!

    Always interested in St Louis MO & IL metro area and Evansville IN national bank notes and Vatican/papal states coins and medals!
  • HoledandCreativeHoledandCreative Posts: 2,729 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Gorgeous!

  • IosephusIosephus Posts: 872 ✭✭✭

    @STLNATS said:
    I gather from the comment in the Maria write up that they are both uniface.

    That's correct, though on good casts (such as these), the "reverse" is actually a rather detailed incuse version of the obverse.

  • Timbuk3Timbuk3 Posts: 11,658 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Wow, very nice !!! :)

    Timbuk3
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