Medal, bronze, of Nicola Vicentino, unattributed, Italy, Lombardy, before 1572

Medal depicts on the obverse bust to left of Nicola, in a long beard. Inscription.
On the reverse an organ with double keyboard, and a kind of spinet with double keyboard. Inscription.

Salting bequest

From the Salting bequest.

Historical significance: The medal, possibly commissioned by Vicentino himself (Gaetani, 1761-3, I, 5), celebrates his invention of the two instruments, both of which appear on the reverse, while the obverse presents his portrait in profile. Daolmi (1999, 193-216) dates the medal ca. 1570 by comparison to his earlier portrait aged forty-four on the frontispiece of L'antica musica ridotta alla moderna prattica in 1555. The inscription on the frontispiece declares that Vicentino is "the inventor of the practical division of the chromatic and enharmonic mode of the arcicembalo" (ARCHICYMBALI DIVISIONIS CHROMATICIQ AC ENARMONICI GENERIS PRACTICAE INVENTOR), which thus clarifies the inscription on the reverse of this medal as referring to Vicentino's subdivision of the chromatic scale (Attwood, 2003, no. 193).
For the successive attributions given to the medal see Attwood (2003, no. 193)

Nicola Vicentino (1510-1577) was an Italian composer and musical theorist of the Renaissance. He revived the study of ancient Greek music theory and practice to link it to contemporary music, and is best known for his invention of two musical instruments with double keyboard, neither of which survives.
The arcicembalo, or "super-harpsichord" containing thirty-six keys to the octave, was constructed in 1555, the year of the publication of his L'antica musica ridotta alla moderna prattica [or Ancient Music adapted to Modern Practice], where he described his invention. He also devised the arciorgano or "super-organ", described in Vicentino's Descrizione dell'arciorgano in 1561.As Philip Attwood writes, 'the larger number of keys on [both instruments] provided a wider range of tonality than was generally available to sixteenth-century musical instruments' (Attwood, 2003, no. 193).

formerly ascribed to Alessandro Vittoria

Nicola Vicentino (1510-1577) was an Italian composer and musical theorist of the Renaissance. He is best known for his invention of two musical instruments with double keyboard (neither of which survives), represented on the reverse of this medal.
The arcicembalo, or "super-harpsichord" containing thirty-six keys to the octave, was constructed in 1555. He devised his arciorgano or "super-organ", before 1561.

A.321-1910