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Sixtus IV

Medal
1481 (dated)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This medal depicts the bust of Pope Sixtus IV, born Francesco d'Albescola della Rovere. he was born in 1414 and died in 1484.

Sixtus IV contributed more than any other Renaissance pope to the renovation of the city of Rome.
The motto on the medal is from Virgil's 'Aeneid' and the reverse commemorates the expulsion of the Turks from Ottranto in 1481 by troops partly contributed by the Pope. The medallist Guacialoti (Guazzalotti) was also a member of the clergy.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSixtus IV (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Bronze
Brief description
Medal, bronze, bust of Pope Sixtus IV, by Andrea Guacialoti, Italy, dated 1481
Physical description
Medal depicts on the obverse the bust to the left of Sixtus, wearing a cope and the Papal tiara. Inscription. On the reverse is a naked young woman leaning with her left elbow on a pillar holding a scarf, with a long staff in her right hand. At the foot of the pillar are small figures of captive Turks, to the left at her feet two ships in a harbour. Below a legend.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 6cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'SIXTVS . III . PON . MAX . SACRICVLT' (on the obverse)
  • 'CONSTANTIA . - PARCERE . SVBIECTIS . ET DEBELLARE SVPERBOS . / SIXTE POTES - MCCCCLXXXI' (Inscribed on the reverse, the date incised.)
Object history
From the Salting bequest.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This medal depicts the bust of Pope Sixtus IV, born Francesco d'Albescola della Rovere. he was born in 1414 and died in 1484.

Sixtus IV contributed more than any other Renaissance pope to the renovation of the city of Rome.
The motto on the medal is from Virgil's 'Aeneid' and the reverse commemorates the expulsion of the Turks from Ottranto in 1481 by troops partly contributed by the Pope. The medallist Guacialoti (Guazzalotti) was also a member of the clergy.
Bibliographic references
  • Hill, George Francis. A Corpus of Italian Medals of the Renaissance, Before Cellini, Volume I, Text. London: British Museum, 1930, no. 751
  • 'Salting Bequest (A. 70 to A. 1029-1910) / Murray Bequest (A. 1030 to A. 1096-1910)'. In: List of Works of Art Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum (Department of Architecture and Sculpture). London: Printed under the Authority of his Majesty's Stationery Office, by Eyre and Spottiswoode, Limited, East Harding Street, EC, p. 21
Collection
Accession number
A.188-1910

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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