The Pazzi Conspiracy thumbnail 1
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

The Pazzi Conspiracy

Medal
1478 (made)
Artist/Maker
Di Giovanni, Bertoldo (medallist)
Place of origin
Florence (made)

This bronze medal was made in memory of the Conspiracy of the Pazzi at Florence by Bertoldo di Giovanni in 1478 in Italy.

The Pazzi Conspiracy was a dramatic but unsuccessful attempt led by the Pazzi family to overthrow the Medici rulers of Florence. It came to a head on 26 April 1478 when Guiliano de’ Medici was killed in Florence Cathedral.

Object details

Categories
Coins & Medals
Politics
Sculpture
Object type
Medal
TitleThe Pazzi Conspiracy (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Bronze, cast
Bronze
Casting
Brief description
Bronze medal depicting Giuliano de' Medici in memory of the Pazzi conspiracy at Florence, by Bertoldo di Giovanni, Italy, 15th century
Physical description
Bronze medal depicting Giuliano de' Medici in memory of his assassination in the Pazzi conspiracy at Florence in 1478.
Medal depicts: Obv.: the bust of Giuliano de Medici, beneath which is the choir of S. Maria del Fiore, and the assassination of Giuliano; rev.: the bust of Lorenzod e Medici, beneath is the same choir, and, without it, groups seizing the conspirators.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 6.35cm
Marks and inscriptions
Obv.: the bust of Giuliano de Medici, beneath which is the choir of S. Maria del Fiore, and the assassination of Giuliano; rev.: the bust of Lorenzod e Medici, beneath is the same choir, and, without it, groups seizing the conspirators.
Subjects depicted
Medici, Lorenzo
Medici, Giuliano
Pazzi Conspiracy
Place depicted
Florence (City)
Associations
Pazzi Conspiracy
Medici, Lorenzo
Medici, Giuliano
Summary
This bronze medal was made in memory of the Conspiracy of the Pazzi at Florence by Bertoldo di Giovanni in 1478 in Italy.

The Pazzi Conspiracy was a dramatic but unsuccessful attempt led by the Pazzi family to overthrow the Medici rulers of Florence. It came to a head on 26 April 1478 when Guiliano de’ Medici was killed in Florence Cathedral.
Associated object
4829-1859 (Copy)
Bibliographic references
  • Draper, James David: Bertoldo di Giovanni - Sculptor of the Medici Household, Columbia, 1992, pp. 86 - 95, 216
  • Scher, Stephen K, The Currency of fame: portrait medals of the Renaissance, New York, National Gallery of Art (U.S.), Frick Collection., 1994 pp.129-132
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1857. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 24.
  • Trusted, Marjorie, ed. The Making of Sculpture. The Materials and Techniques of European Sculpture. London: 2007, p. 80, pl. 126
  • Hill, George Francis. A Corpus of Italian Medals of the Renaissance, Before Cellini, Volume I, Text. London: British Museum, 1930, p. 240, no. 915
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
4579-1857

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Record createdAugust 26, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O102845/the-pazzi-conspiracy-medal-di-giovanni-bertoldo/
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