The medal depicts Gian Gastone de’ Medici in profile to the right, dressed in parade armour decorated on the chest with a mascherone. It was commissioned to Giovan Francesco Pieri to celebrate the sitter's elevation to the Tuscan throne in 1723, following the death of his father Cosimo III. The reverse in fact shows Gian Gastone, standing on the left and dressed all’antica, about to receive sceptre and crown by the allegorical figure of Tuscany, an elegant kneeling female accompanied by the lion crouched at her side.

Originally from Prato and already initiated into the arts, Giovan Francesco Pieri (1699-1733) entered the studio of the Florentine sculptor Giovacchino Fortini around 1714 to perfect his drawing skills. Although he soon achieved artistic autonomy, he remained in the master's workshop until 1736, probably as a collaborator (Plasmato dal fuoco 2019, p. 596). Pieri was a celebrated wax modeller but also devoted himself to the art of medals. His medals show us very clearly how close his modus operandi was to that of his master Fortini. The portrait of the Gran Duke Gian Gastone in the present medal shows the artist's intention to investigate the features of the duke without idealization, as shown by the effigy's hooked nose and the protrusion of the lower lip, and to capture the character's psychology (Plasmato dal fuoco 2019, p. 369). The curls of the wig are carefully outlined, but in the reverse the features of the faces become more compendious, and the drapery becomes wavy, in contrast to the smooth background. All these elements show Pieri's evident debt to Fortini's teachings.