Mary Tudor thumbnail 1
Mary Tudor thumbnail 2
Not on display

Mary Tudor

Medal
ca. 1554 (made)
Artist/Maker
Da Trezzo (medallist)
Place of origin
Italy (made)

This medal depicting Queen Mary of England (1516-1558), is made by Jacopo da Trezzo, in ca. 1554. She got married to Philip II of Spain in 1554.

The sculptor, gem-engraver and medallist Jacopo Nizzola Trezzo (b. Milan ca. 1515 - d. Madrid 1589) served Cosimo II de' Medici as gem-cutter. His earliest medal is dated 1550. Later he worked for Philip II of Spain in the Netherlands (1555-1559) and in Madrid (1559-death). He is highly esteemed as a gem engraver and his medals were modelled with great esteem and delicacy of detail.

Object details

Categories
Coins & Medals
Portraits
Sculpture
Royalty
Object type
Medal
Titles
  • Mary Tudor (generic title)
  • Queen Mary of England (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Bronze
Bronze
Brief description
Medal, bronze, Queen Mary of England, by Jacopo da Trezzo. Italy, ca. 1554
Physical description
Medal depicts on the obverse the bust to the left of Mary, shown down to the waist. She wears a brocaded bodice, with loose sleeves and a coif ornamented with jewels. Inscription. On the reverse a woman seated, draped and crowned, turned half-right. In her right hand she holds branches of palm and olive, and in her left a torch with which she sets fire to a heap of arms. To the left a group of people afflicted by a storm, who supplicate the seated figure. Inscription.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 6.7cm
  • Weight: .7kg
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'MARIA . I . REG . ANGL . FRANC . ET . HIB . FIDEI . DEFENSATRIX / IAC TREZ' (obverse)
  • 'CECIS VISVS TIMIDVS . QVIES' (reverse)
Object history
From the Salting bequest.
Subjects depicted
Woman
Palm
Olive Tree
Torch
Arms
People
Queen Mary
Summary
This medal depicting Queen Mary of England (1516-1558), is made by Jacopo da Trezzo, in ca. 1554. She got married to Philip II of Spain in 1554.

The sculptor, gem-engraver and medallist Jacopo Nizzola Trezzo (b. Milan ca. 1515 - d. Madrid 1589) served Cosimo II de' Medici as gem-cutter. His earliest medal is dated 1550. Later he worked for Philip II of Spain in the Netherlands (1555-1559) and in Madrid (1559-death). He is highly esteemed as a gem engraver and his medals were modelled with great esteem and delicacy of detail.
Bibliographic references
  • Scher, Stephen K, The Currency of fame: portrait medals of the Renaissance, New York, National Gallery of Art (U.S.), Frick Collection., 1994 pp.158-160
  • '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. 37
  • Armand, Alfred. Les Médailleurs Italiens. Vol I. Paris: 1883, p. 241
  • Fullea, Fernando, Felipe II: un monarca y su época, un príncipe del renacimiento, Madrid: Sociedad Estatal para la Conmemoracion de los centenarios de Felipe II y Carlos V, 1998.
  • Rodriguez-Salgado, M J, Armada:1588-1988 London, National Maritime Museum, 1988
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.271-1910

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O313193/mary-tudor-medal-da-trezzo/
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