Constantine the Great thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Sculpture, Room 111, The Gilbert Bayes Gallery

Constantine the Great

Medal
ca. 1402 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Paris (made)

This medal commemorates the Emperor Constantine the Great. Along with another medal showing Heraclius, Emperor of Byzantium, this stands at the beginning of the medallic tradition in Europe. Documents show that the original examples were made for Duc de Berry, an outstanding patron and connoisseur, and entered his collection in November 1402. The legend in Latin reads, ‘Constantine, faithful in Christ our God, leader and ruler of the Romans, Emperor for ever’


Object details

Categories
Coins & Medals
Sculpture
Object type
Medal
TitleConstantine the Great (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Bronze, cast
Bronze
Casting
Brief description
Medal, bronze, the Emperor Constantine on horseback, Italy, ca. 1402
Physical description
Medal depicts: Obv.: the Emperor Constantine on horseback; rev.: a fountain surmounted by a cross, and flanked by two female figures.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 8.89cm
Object history
This medal commemorates the Emperor Constantine the Great. Along with another medal showing Heraclius, Emperor of Byzantium, this stands at the beginning of the medallic tradition in Europe. Documents show that the original examples were made for Duc de Berry, an outstanding patron and connoisseur, and entered his collection in November 1402. The legend in Latin reads, ‘Constantine, faithful in Christ our God, leader and ruler of the Romans, Emperor for ever’
Subjects depicted
Horse
Fountain
Cross
Women
Constantine, Flavius Valerius (The Great)
Summary
This medal commemorates the Emperor Constantine the Great. Along with another medal showing Heraclius, Emperor of Byzantium, this stands at the beginning of the medallic tradition in Europe. Documents show that the original examples were made for Duc de Berry, an outstanding patron and connoisseur, and entered his collection in November 1402. The legend in Latin reads, ‘Constantine, faithful in Christ our God, leader and ruler of the Romans, Emperor for ever’
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1858. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 16.
  • Trusted, Marjorie, ed. The Making of Sculpture. The Materials and Techniques of European Sculpture. London: 2007, p. 84, pl. 136.
  • Scher, Stephen K, The Currency of fame: portrait medals of the Renaissance, New York, National Gallery of Art (U.S.), Frick Collection., 1994 pp.32-35
  • Tania L. Jones, 'The Constantine and Heraclius Medallions', The Medal, no. 56, 2010, pp.5-14
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
4492-1858

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Record createdApril 27, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O111538/constantine-the-great-medal-unknown/
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