Gnadenpfennig thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Gnadenpfennig

ca. 1620 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Medals of sovereigns mounted in gold, called Gnadenpfennige in German, were traditionally presented by the rulers as a token of their appreciation and trust. They appeared in the 1560s in Tyrol and Bavaria, and spread very quickly to all the German kingdoms. The fashion for them faded in the first quarter of the 17th century. They were worn by both men and women on long gold chains.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Enamelled gold and hung with pearls
Brief description
Enamelled gold medal (Gnadenpfennig) set with a medal of Albrecht VI of Bavaria (1584-1666) after a wax portrait by Alessandro Abondio, hung with pearls. The medal as well as the setting probably executed by Christian Ulrich Eberl, Germany (Munich), about 1620
Physical description
Enamelled gold and set with a medal of Albrecht VI of Bavaria (1584-1666) after a wax portrait by Alessandro Abondio, hung with pearls. The medal as well as the setting probably executed by Christian Ulrich Eberl
Dimensions
  • Height: 11.2cm
  • Width: 4.4cm
  • Depth: 0.3cm
Style
Object history
ex Tross Collection, Paris
Historical context
Medals of sovereigns mounted in gold, called Gnadenpfennige in German, were traditionally presented by the rulers as a token of their appreciation and trust. They appeared in the 1560s in Tyrol and Bavaria, and spread very quickly to all the German kingdoms. The fashion for them faded in the first quarter of the 17th century. They were worn by both men and women on long gold chains.
See the portrait of a woman from the Hamburger family wearing a Gnadenpfennig with a medal of Friedrich III von Holstein-Gottorp, on a chain around her neck, artist unknown, 1621 (Weimar, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Schloss).
Subjects depicted
Summary
Medals of sovereigns mounted in gold, called Gnadenpfennige in German, were traditionally presented by the rulers as a token of their appreciation and trust. They appeared in the 1560s in Tyrol and Bavaria, and spread very quickly to all the German kingdoms. The fashion for them faded in the first quarter of the 17th century. They were worn by both men and women on long gold chains.
Collection
Accession number
69-1867

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Record createdJuly 24, 2006
Record URL
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