Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Silver, Room 68, The Whiteley Galleries

Wenzel Jamnitzer of Nuremberg

Medal
1585 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This lead medal, dated 1585, represents Wenzel Jamnitzer (1508-1584) and is made in Germany. This version is an aftercast from the epitaph of the tomb of the Jamnitzers in the Johannesfriedhof, attributed to Valentin Maler, now in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg. Habich stated that the epitaph was an enlarged version of Maler's medal of Jamnitzer dating from 1584.
Jamnitzer was a leading goldsmith in Nuremberg.

Maler (about 1540-1603) is documented as being in Nuremberg by 1568. In 1569 he married Wenzel Jamnitzer's daughter, Maria. He was active as a wax modeller and portrait medallist in Nuremberg from 1568 onwards until his death in 1603, but he travelled widely visiting many royal courts in Prague, Munich, Dresden, Würzburg, Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland), Stuttgart and Bamberg. He worked for Duke Wilhelm of Munich, Elector Augustus and Duke Christian of Saxony, and later for the Habsburg Emperors, Maximilian II and Rudolf II. He also produced many medals of Munich citizens. Later in his career he undertook die-cutting for struck medals, particularly commemorative coins.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleWenzel Jamnitzer of Nuremberg (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Lead
Brief description
Medal, lead, oval, Wenzel Jamnitzer of Nuremberg, attributed to Valentin Maler, Germany, 1585
Physical description
Obv. only; bust of Wenzel Jamnitzer facing right, bearded and bare-headed.
Dimensions
  • Height: 13.6cm
  • Width: 115mm
  • Weight: 342.2g
Marks and inscriptions
'WENTZEL IAMNITZER ALT.78.IM. 1585' (Obverse)
Object history
Provenance: Tross. 140 medals and reliefs were purchased from M. Henri Tross of Paris for £500 by J.C. Robinson for the Museum in 1867.

This version is an aftercast from the epitaph of the tomb of the Jamnitzers in the Johannesfriedhof, attributed to Valentin Maler.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This lead medal, dated 1585, represents Wenzel Jamnitzer (1508-1584) and is made in Germany. This version is an aftercast from the epitaph of the tomb of the Jamnitzers in the Johannesfriedhof, attributed to Valentin Maler, now in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg. Habich stated that the epitaph was an enlarged version of Maler's medal of Jamnitzer dating from 1584.
Jamnitzer was a leading goldsmith in Nuremberg.

Maler (about 1540-1603) is documented as being in Nuremberg by 1568. In 1569 he married Wenzel Jamnitzer's daughter, Maria. He was active as a wax modeller and portrait medallist in Nuremberg from 1568 onwards until his death in 1603, but he travelled widely visiting many royal courts in Prague, Munich, Dresden, Würzburg, Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland), Stuttgart and Bamberg. He worked for Duke Wilhelm of Munich, Elector Augustus and Duke Christian of Saxony, and later for the Habsburg Emperors, Maximilian II and Rudolf II. He also produced many medals of Munich citizens. Later in his career he undertook die-cutting for struck medals, particularly commemorative coins.
Bibliographic references
  • Trusted, Marjorie. German Renaissance Medals, A Catalogue of the collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum.. London, 1990, pp. 70-71
  • Inventory of Art Objects acquired in the Year 1867. 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. 22
Collection
Accession number
175-1867

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Record createdFebruary 27, 2004
Record URL
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