This is a bronze medal made by Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, called Antico (c. 1455-1528), in about 1487. The obverse of this medal represents Antonia del Balzo, the wife of Gianfrancesco Gonzaga. The reverse shows Hope standing on the prow of a ship bearing the Italian motto 'never again', drawn over the sea by two wigned horses. The Gonzaga family ruled Mantua in Northern Italy from 1328 to 1708. Giangrancesco Gonzaga di Rodigo was an able military commander who passed much of his early life as a soldier in the service of Ferrante, King of Naples. He was the third son of Ludovico Gonzaga, second Marchese of Mantua. In Naples he met his future wife the cultivated Antonia de Balzo (c.1460-1538), daughter of Pirro, Prince of Altamura and they were married in 1479, in which year Gianfrancesco was made Count of Ródigo, and Lord of Bozzolo, Sabbioneta, Viadana and Gazzuolo in the territory of Mantua. They made their seat in the rocca of Bozzolo, where until Gianfrancesco's death in 1496 they kept a brilliant court. After his death Antonia retired to the rocca of Gazzuolo, where she lived until her death in 1538 at the age of ninety-seven, known to the Gonzaga family as the 'mother of all'.
Antico (Pier Jacopo di Antonio Alari-Bonacolsi) (c. 1455-1528), was an Italian sculptor and goldsmith. He was nick-named Antico, because in his work he related heavily to Antiquity. He re-created small scale statuettes of famous antique examples. He was active at the Gonzaga court at Mantua and made many bronzes for the court, notably for Ludovico, Bishop of Mantua and Isabella d’Este, wife of Francesco II Gonzaga, 4th Marchese of Mantua. He was also a restorer of antique statues and an adviser to art collectors. Antico's medals of Gianfrancesco and Antonia, which number eight in total, are probably his earliest surviving works.