French Medal - Gaspard de Monconys by Claude Warin

Iosephus · April 24, 2016 11:48AM

Gaspard de Monconys

by Claude Warin

Bronze, 106.3 mm Ø, 175.9 g

Obverse: Bust of Gaspard de Monconys facing right, wearing cap and gown. Around, GASP · MONCO · LIERGVE' · LVGD · IVR · CRIM · PRÆT · (Gaspard Monconys, Lord of Liergues, Criminal Lieutenant of Lyon). Under the bust, VARIN .

Gaspard de Monconys (1592-1664) was King Louis XIII's leading official in Lyon. In addition to the titles mentioned in the medal's inscription, he was also Provost-Marshal of the Merchants of Lyon, and in this position enjoyed jurisdiction over the bustling river trade. With access to some of the best works of art being transported from Rome to Paris, de Monconys was able to assemble an impressive collection, which was further augmented with pieces from his brother, Balthazar de Monconys, a noted traveler of Europe and the Orient. Noteworthy in its time, the collection was broken up within a decade of his passing.

Reference: Trésor de Numismatique, Médailles Française 2, Plate XXXI, No. 2

STLNATS · April 24, 2016 1:17PM

Interesting, highly detailed medal with a pretty patina. From the description I gather this is uniface? Congrats on another nice find and writeup.

PS I won't even pose my usual question since the dirt/stuff within the legend suggests that this one has a fair amount of age...

PPS, whoa nelly...at 106 mm that's a really a big boy. Better yet, the artist used the space very effectively. My initial impression was that your medal was less than half the size. As you know, on the obverse of some big papal pieces the portrait almost seems lost in the massive field - head too small, fields too big. Not at all the case here which makes it even more impressive. Congrats times 2

Iosephus · April 24, 2016 11:08PM

Originally posted by: STLNATS
Interesting, highly detailed medal with a pretty patina. From the description I gather this is uniface? Congrats on another nice find and writeup.

PS I won't even pose my usual question since the dirt/stuff within the legend suggests that this one has a fair amount of age...
PPS, whoa nelly...at 106 mm that's a really a big boy. Better yet, the artist used the space very effectively. My initial impression was that your medal was less than half the size. As you know, on the obverse of some big papal pieces the portrait almost seems lost in the massive field - head too small, fields too big. Not at all the case here which makes it even more impressive. Congrats times 2

Thank! Yes, it is uniface and quite large. The relief is also impressive, with the highest point (his shoulder) being about 8mm above the field.

brg5658 · April 25, 2016 1:21AM

WOAH!!! That relief looks amazing! Cool!

Zohar · April 25, 2016 5:51AM

Very distinct and lively portrait. Congrats.

French Medal - Gaspard de Monconys by Claude Warin

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