Medal
Medal
16th century (made)
16th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This bronze medal depicts Paul III who served as Pope from 1534 tp 1549. He is shown on the obverse side, bare-headed and wearing a cope. On the reverse, a unicorn is shown plunging its head into a stream whilst an ox and a she-wolf are drinking and in the background there is a walled city amid mountains.
The portrait medal was used as a way of showing friendship, wealth and scholarship. It was inspired by doublesided Roman coins, which usually had a portrait of the emperor on one side and Latin inscriptions on both sides. Renaissance medals had a portrait on the obverse side (front) and often a motto or allegorical figure on the reverse, underlining the qualities of the person shown in the portrait.
The portrait medal was used as a way of showing friendship, wealth and scholarship. It was inspired by doublesided Roman coins, which usually had a portrait of the emperor on one side and Latin inscriptions on both sides. Renaissance medals had a portrait on the obverse side (front) and often a motto or allegorical figure on the reverse, underlining the qualities of the person shown in the portrait.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Medal |
| Materials and techniques | Bronze |
| Brief description | Medal, bronze, Paul III, unicorn, she- wolf, oxen, Italy, 16th century. |
| Physical description | Medal of bronze, struck from a die. Paul III. (Alessandro Farnese), b. 1466. elected pope in 1534: d. 1549. Obv.: PAVLVS. III. PONT. MAX. AN. XVI. Bust to left, wearing a cope, and bare-headed. Rev.: IN. VIRTVTE. TVA. SERVATI. SVMVS. A unicorn is plunging its head into a stream, whilst an ox and a she-wolf are drinking; in the background there is a walled city amid mountains. Signed on the obv.: I. FEDE. PARM. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Bought for 4s. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This bronze medal depicts Paul III who served as Pope from 1534 tp 1549. He is shown on the obverse side, bare-headed and wearing a cope. On the reverse, a unicorn is shown plunging its head into a stream whilst an ox and a she-wolf are drinking and in the background there is a walled city amid mountains. The portrait medal was used as a way of showing friendship, wealth and scholarship. It was inspired by doublesided Roman coins, which usually had a portrait of the emperor on one side and Latin inscriptions on both sides. Renaissance medals had a portrait on the obverse side (front) and often a motto or allegorical figure on the reverse, underlining the qualities of the person shown in the portrait. |
| Bibliographic reference | List of Objects in the Art Division South Kensington Museum acquired during the Year 1893. Arranged according to the dates of acquisition, with appendix and indices. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1894. pp. 163. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1234-1893 |
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| Record created | January 5, 2009 |
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