Please complete the form to email this item.

Gnadenpfennig

Gnadenpfennig

  • Place of origin:

    Munich, Germany (made)

  • Date:

    ca. 1620 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Eberl, Christian Ulrich (attributed to, maker)
    Abondio, Alessandro (after, medallists)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Enamelled gold and hung with pearls

  • Museum number:

    69-1867

  • Gallery location:

    Jewellery, room 91, case 7, shelf A, box 5

  • Download image

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.

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

Place of Origin

Munich, Germany (made)

Date

ca. 1620 (made)

Artist/maker

Eberl, Christian Ulrich (attributed to, maker)
Abondio, Alessandro (after, medallists)

Materials and Techniques

Enamelled gold and hung with pearls

Dimensions

Height: 11.2 cm, Width: 4.4 cm, Depth: 0.3 cm

Object history note

ex Tross Collection, Paris

Historical context note

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).

Descriptive line

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

Materials

Gold; Enamel; Pearl

Techniques

Cast; Enamelled; Chased

Subjects depicted

Portraits; Medals; Albrecht VI (of Bavaria)

Categories

Metalwork; Jewellery

Collection code

MET

Download image
Qr_O126315
Ajax-loader