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Medal

late 15th or early 16th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Olivieri, Maffeo (medallist)
Place of origin
Italy (made)

This is a bronze medal made in the late 15th or early 16th century Italy, probably by Maffeo Olivieri. The obverse of this medal shows a bust of Averoldo Altoroldo, Bishop of Brescia and Pola, and the reverse shows two nude figures unveilling Truth, with inscription.
Averoldo was Olivieri's patron. The legend on the medal is almost identical to Olivieri's San Marco bronze candlesticks, which he made in 1527. Averoldo, the illigitimate son from a prominent Brescian family, took a doctorate in law at Padua. Pope Alexander VI, made him Bishop of Pola in 1497, under circumstances that followed to censure.



Object details

Categories
Coins & Medals
Portraits
Object type
Medal
Materials and techniques
Bronze
Bronze
Brief description
Medal, bronze, Averoldo Altobello, Bishop of Brescia and Pola/Truth, by Maffeo Olivieri, Italy, late 15th or early 16th century
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 3.625in
Object history
Purchased in Paris (Piot sale, 1864, 25-30 April, £4 16s.).
Subjects depicted
Truth
Altobello, Averoldo
Summary
This is a bronze medal made in the late 15th or early 16th century Italy, probably by Maffeo Olivieri. The obverse of this medal shows a bust of Averoldo Altoroldo, Bishop of Brescia and Pola, and the reverse shows two nude figures unveilling Truth, with inscription.
Averoldo was Olivieri's patron. The legend on the medal is almost identical to Olivieri's San Marco bronze candlesticks, which he made in 1527. Averoldo, the illigitimate son from a prominent Brescian family, took a doctorate in law at Padua. Pope Alexander VI, made him Bishop of Pola in 1497, under circumstances that followed to censure.

Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects acquired in the Year 1864. Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol. 1. London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868., p. 43
  • Scher, Stephen K, The Currency of fame: portrait medals of the Renaissance, New York, National Gallery of Art (U.S.), Frick Collection., 1994 pp.109-110
  • Hill, G. F. A Corpus of Italian Medals of the Renaissance before Cellini. London: British Museum, 1920. no. 486.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
496-1864

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Record createdMarch 25, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O148143/medal-olivieri-maffeo/
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