French Medal - Christine of France by Abraham Dupré
Iosephus
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Christine of France
Work of Abraham Dupré, 1637.
Bronze, 107.6 mm Ø, 71.5 g
Obverse: Bust of Christine of France facing left, crowned, wearing jewels, descending lace collar, and mantle decorated with fleurs-de-lis. Around, CHRISTIA . A FRANCIA DV / A SAB . REG : CYPRI (Christine of France, Duchess of Savoy, Queen of Cyprus). In small text within the beginning of the inscription, A B DVPRE F 1637 .
Christine Marie of France (b. 1606) was the third child of King Henri IV and his wife Marie de' Medici. She married Victor Amadeus I of Savoy in 1619, who became Duke of Savoy upon his father's death in 1630 and assumed the title of King of Cyprus in 1632. Upon his passing in 1637, Christine ruled as regent until 1648 and maintained de facto rule of Savoy until her death in 1663.
The portrait on this medal is virtually the same as the right facing bust of Christine created by Abraham's father, Guillaume Dupré, for a smaller medal of 1635.
Provenance: Ex Ernst Otto Horn collection.
References: Rouhette and Tuzio 2008, no. 92
Comments
Cool !!!
Hi Joe/ @Iosephus - great medal!
I really like your website which is very well done. I was also blown away by the Ben Weiss website, which I got to via your Links page.
But it got me thinking. Can you (or anyone else) share what you know about these medals, in terms of how many would be produced, who they would be given to, where they would be stored, etc? Maybe use for example the medal in the OP?
Sorry for such a simple question. My only comparison would be medals made by the US mint today - say inauguration medals. But these are distributed via mail to collectors. Were medals like the one in the OP for collectors, more like a painted portrait, a display of power, a calling card, or what?
Thanks very much,
Bob
My current "Box of 20"
In general, medals of the period would be used as a means of broadcasting one's image, so your thoughts of acting like a painted portrait, display of power, and calling card are right on. Medals could also be created for collectors, though this was more often done in later years and with struck medals. Early medals were collected, but copies called "aftercasts" were commonly made to reproduce the originals.
Unlike a painted portrait, medals were durable (could travel far), could be easily reproduced (larger quantities could be made), and the reverse could be used to tell something about the sitter (though this piece is only the portrait, as many of the cast French medals were). All of these points made the medal the perfect medium through which to spread propaganda.
Medals could be given away as gifts between rulers and dignitaries, as well as distributed to crowds at special events. Medals would also be places in the foundations of Renaissance buildings. Many medals are found holed (as is this one), and while some would be worn (more likely smaller medals), they could be mounted for display and as decoration.
Virtus Collection - Renaissance and Baroque Medals
Great info - thank you!
My current "Box of 20"