Queen Christina of Sweden
Medal
1681 (made)
1681 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This medal depicting Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689) is made my Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi (1656-1740), in Rome in ca. 1681.
Massimiliano Soldani was an Italian sculptor, medallist and goldsmith, who is considered to be the last great Florentine bronze worker in the tradition leading from Lorenzo Ghiberti through Giambologna to Pietro Tacca and Ferdinando Tacca. Characteristics of his work are precise modelling and elegant lines. He combined Mannerist with high Baroque.
He worked primarily for Grand Duke Cosimo III in Florence as medallist, goldsmith and bronze sculptor. In 1678 he was sent to the Grand-Ducal Academy in Rome to perfect his knowledge of medallic design and it was there that he was first commissioned in 1681 by Christina of Sweden, living in exile, to produce portraits of herself and her friend Cardinal Azzolino. Soldani went on to make several models of the Queen, with what appears to be a total of six reverses and varying obverses.
Massimiliano Soldani was an Italian sculptor, medallist and goldsmith, who is considered to be the last great Florentine bronze worker in the tradition leading from Lorenzo Ghiberti through Giambologna to Pietro Tacca and Ferdinando Tacca. Characteristics of his work are precise modelling and elegant lines. He combined Mannerist with high Baroque.
He worked primarily for Grand Duke Cosimo III in Florence as medallist, goldsmith and bronze sculptor. In 1678 he was sent to the Grand-Ducal Academy in Rome to perfect his knowledge of medallic design and it was there that he was first commissioned in 1681 by Christina of Sweden, living in exile, to produce portraits of herself and her friend Cardinal Azzolino. Soldani went on to make several models of the Queen, with what appears to be a total of six reverses and varying obverses.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Queen Christina of Sweden (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Bronze |
| Brief description | Medal, bronze, of Queen Christina of Sweden, by Massimiliano Soldani, Italian (Rome), ca. 1681 |
| Physical description | Obverse: Profile portrait bust of Queen Christina of Sweden to right, a chemise visible on the right shoulder beneath a gown trimmed around the neckline with fur and fastened at the right shoulder with a brooch; her hair dressed up at the back with beads; inscribed. Reverse: The whole field occupied by rays emanating in concentric circles from the sun with a human face, placed above the bottom edge and with G and D (for 'Gratia Deo' - 'Thanks be to God') to either side of the sun's face at the edge of the rays, with raised moulding around the border. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Object history | Bought together with A.28 to A.31-1977 from Spink's for the total of £430, reduced by 10% to £387, in 1977. Historical significance: The present medal is a finely struck example of a medal for which the models of both obverse and reverse seem to have been designed by Soldani, although the dies for striking were probably cut by an associate, Guglielmada. The medals were struck in the Papal Mint under the control of Giovanni Hamerani, Master of the Mint who retained the dies and also had moulds for casting medals. All the surviving dies were bought by the King of Sweden in 1783 and are now in the Stockholm Mint. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This medal depicting Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689) is made my Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi (1656-1740), in Rome in ca. 1681. Massimiliano Soldani was an Italian sculptor, medallist and goldsmith, who is considered to be the last great Florentine bronze worker in the tradition leading from Lorenzo Ghiberti through Giambologna to Pietro Tacca and Ferdinando Tacca. Characteristics of his work are precise modelling and elegant lines. He combined Mannerist with high Baroque. He worked primarily for Grand Duke Cosimo III in Florence as medallist, goldsmith and bronze sculptor. In 1678 he was sent to the Grand-Ducal Academy in Rome to perfect his knowledge of medallic design and it was there that he was first commissioned in 1681 by Christina of Sweden, living in exile, to produce portraits of herself and her friend Cardinal Azzolino. Soldani went on to make several models of the Queen, with what appears to be a total of six reverses and varying obverses. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.31-1977 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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