Medal
1659 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This circular bronze locket, medal or case is attributed to Gioacchino Francesco Traviani after designs by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, made in Italy, dated 1659.
It depicts on one side the bust of Alexander VII in relief, with legend, surrounded by an acanthus leaf border. On the other side is an armed warrior encountering a lion in the amphitheatre, with legend and similar border. Within the case are fixed two broken portions of an inscription in bronze in honour of Alexander VII.
This locket was commissioned by Domenico Iacobacci in honour of the Pope and is of great rarity. Both the obverse and the reverse are from designs by Bernini.
It depicts on one side the bust of Alexander VII in relief, with legend, surrounded by an acanthus leaf border. On the other side is an armed warrior encountering a lion in the amphitheatre, with legend and similar border. Within the case are fixed two broken portions of an inscription in bronze in honour of Alexander VII.
This locket was commissioned by Domenico Iacobacci in honour of the Pope and is of great rarity. Both the obverse and the reverse are from designs by Bernini.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Bronze |
| Brief description | Locket or medal, bronze, attributed to Travani, depicting Pope Alexander VII/warrior with lion, after designs by Bernini, Italy, dated 1659 |
| Physical description | This locket, medal or case depicts on one side the bust of Alexander VII in relief, with legend, surrounded by an acanthus leaf border. On the other side is an armed warrior encountering a lion in the amphitheatre, with legend and similar border. Within the case are fixed two broken portions of an inscription in bronze in honour of Alexander VII. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Gallery label | POPE ALEXANDER VII (Fabio Chigi, 1599-1667; Pope 1655) and ANDROCLES AND THE LION
Italian (Rome); dated 1659
Bronze medals mounted in a locket
Attributed to Gioacchino Francesco Travani (active 1655-74), after a design by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680)
The obverse (front) and reverse (back) of the medal have been separately cast and mounted in a locket. The medal was designed by the leading sculptor of the time, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. A rich citizen, Prince Domenico Jacobacci, commissioned the lockets to celebrate the pope’s role in quickly dealing with a plague which threatened Rome. An inscription on the back outlines this and other achievements (see adjacent label).
(1993 - 2011) |
| Object history | This locket was commissioned by Domenico Iacobacci in honour of the Pope and is of great rarity. Both the obverse and the reverse are from designs by Bernini. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This circular bronze locket, medal or case is attributed to Gioacchino Francesco Traviani after designs by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, made in Italy, dated 1659. It depicts on one side the bust of Alexander VII in relief, with legend, surrounded by an acanthus leaf border. On the other side is an armed warrior encountering a lion in the amphitheatre, with legend and similar border. Within the case are fixed two broken portions of an inscription in bronze in honour of Alexander VII. This locket was commissioned by Domenico Iacobacci in honour of the Pope and is of great rarity. Both the obverse and the reverse are from designs by Bernini. |
| Bibliographic references |
|
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 5419-1859 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
