Ludovico Sforza thumbnail 1
Not on display

Ludovico Sforza

Medal
ca. 1488 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Milan (made)

This bronze medal formerly ascribed to Caradosso is made my an unknown medallist in Italy in Milan in ca. 1488. It represents the bust of Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, and on the reverse Ludovico on his throne.
Lodovico Sforza also called 'Il Moro’, (1452-1508) became Duke of Milan in 1494. He was the fourth son of Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti. He married Ercole I d'Este's youngest daughter Beatrice d'Este. He was a patron of Leonardo da Vinci and also the one who commissioned the Last Supper.

Object details

Categories
Coins & Medals
Portraits
Sculpture
Object type
Medal
TitleLudovico Sforza (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Bronze
Bronze
Brief description
Medal, bronze, Lodovico Sforza il Moro, Duke of Milan, Italy, probably 1488
Physical description
Medal depicts on the obverse the bust of Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan. On the reverse is Sforza on his throne and before him numerous armed figures on horseback. In the background the fortified harbour of Genoa with ships. Pearled border.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 2.86cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'LVDOVICVS . MA . SF . VICO . DVX . BARI . DVC . GVBER .' (Obverse)
  • 'OPTIMO . CONSCILIO . SINE . ARMIS . RESTITVTA' (Reverse)
  • 'P . DECRETO' (Reverse, incised on the base of the platform.)
Object history
Bought, £1 in 1861.
Production
formerly ascribed to Caradosso
Subjects depicted
Bust
Throne
Figures
Horseback
Harbour
Ships
Sforza, Lodovico (Il Moro)
Place depicted
Genoa
Summary
This bronze medal formerly ascribed to Caradosso is made my an unknown medallist in Italy in Milan in ca. 1488. It represents the bust of Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, and on the reverse Ludovico on his throne.
Lodovico Sforza also called 'Il Moro’, (1452-1508) became Duke of Milan in 1494. He was the fourth son of Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti. He married Ercole I d'Este's youngest daughter Beatrice d'Este. He was a patron of Leonardo da Vinci and also the one who commissioned the Last Supper.

Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1861. 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. 23
  • Hill, George Francis. A Corpus of Italian Medals of the Renaissance, Before Cellini, Volume I, Text. London: British Museum, 1930, p. 169.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
7664-1861

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O313517/ludovico-sforza-medal-unknown/
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