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Medal

late 15th century - early 16th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is a bronze medal made in the late 15th or early 16th century in Italy. This medal has only the obverse which shows an unknown monk. There are the letters 'R. L.' in the field.
It was bought from the Soulages collection. Jules Soulages (1812-1856) was a collector of French and Italian Renaissance art. After his death his collection was acquired by the Museum. Born in Toulouse in 1803, Jules Soulages practised as a lawyer in Paris and was founding member of the Société Archeologique du Midi de la France. He created an extensive collection of French and Italian Renaissance decorative art from 1825, comprising around 750 objects, including furniture, glass, ceramics, bronzes, enamels and ivories. In the late 1840s Soulages moved back to Toulouse, where Henry Cole viewed his collection in 1855. Subsequent sale negotiations led to the production of a catalogue and two exhibitions in England at the Museum of Ornamental Art at Marlborough House, and at the Manchester Art Treasures exhibition respectively, both enhancing the celebrity of the collection, and resulting in its acquisition for the South Kensington Museum. Soulages died on 13 October 1857, aged 54.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Bronze
Brief description
Medal, bronze, a monk unknown, Italian, late 15th or early 16th century
Physical description
This medal has an obverse only and depicts a bust portrait of a monk unknown. In the field the letters 'R. L.'.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 6.35cm
Marks and inscriptions
'R.L.' (in the field)
Object history
There is an electrotype copy of this medal (inv. no. 1857-88). It was bought from the Soulages collection in 1865.
The dealer John Webb was despatched to examine and report on the collection, which was purchased between 1859 and 1865 in installments for £11,000 with the assistance of 73 subscribers.
Subject depicted
Summary
This is a bronze medal made in the late 15th or early 16th century in Italy. This medal has only the obverse which shows an unknown monk. There are the letters 'R. L.' in the field.
It was bought from the Soulages collection. Jules Soulages (1812-1856) was a collector of French and Italian Renaissance art. After his death his collection was acquired by the Museum. Born in Toulouse in 1803, Jules Soulages practised as a lawyer in Paris and was founding member of the Société Archeologique du Midi de la France. He created an extensive collection of French and Italian Renaissance decorative art from 1825, comprising around 750 objects, including furniture, glass, ceramics, bronzes, enamels and ivories. In the late 1840s Soulages moved back to Toulouse, where Henry Cole viewed his collection in 1855. Subsequent sale negotiations led to the production of a catalogue and two exhibitions in England at the Museum of Ornamental Art at Marlborough House, and at the Manchester Art Treasures exhibition respectively, both enhancing the celebrity of the collection, and resulting in its acquisition for the South Kensington Museum. Soulages died on 13 October 1857, aged 54.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects acquired in the Year 1865. Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol. 1. London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 40
  • Robinson, John Charles. Catalogue of the Soulages Collection. London: Chapman & Hall, 1856, p. 150
  • Hill, G. F. A Corpus of Italian Medals of the Renaissance before Cellini. London: British Museum, 1920, no. 1076
Collection
Accession number
712-1865

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Record createdMay 6, 2008
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