Plate at Great Yarmouth
Church
The seventeenth-centurycommunion plate of the
parish church of Great Yarmouthis more remark-
able for its gigantic size than for any other reason.
It includes four cupsof extraordinarycapacity,and
one has a slight depression at the lip, and was
perhaps used as a flagon. Vessels of such large
size were no doubt necessary in a church which
ranks as the second largest parish church in
England, S. Michael's,Coventry, taking first place.
The civic plate of the borough of Great
Yarmouth, consisting of maces, a sword, an oar,
and several trencher salts,' was also on view.
'' The CorporationPlateof England and Wales,'by Llewellyn
Jewitt and W. H. St. John Hope, vol. ii, p. 206.
NOTES ON SOME ITALIAN MEDALS
u BY MAX ROSENHEIM AND G. F. HILL
I and the reverse of whose medal of Charles V 3 he
ANTONIO ABONDIO AND THE MEDALLIST A. A.
F late years considerable atten-
tion has been devoted to the
medallist, Antonio Abondio.
The object of this note is to
define his cruvrea little more
closely by eliminating a certain
number of medals which have
been attributedto him without
due consideration. The result will not be entirely
negative, as we shall show that most of these
medals fall into a homogeneous group.
Before we proceed further, it may be as well to
give one or two typical specimens of Abondio's
work. These--medals of the four archdukes,
Mathias, Maximilianl,Albert and Wenceslas, of
the Empress Maria, of the Emperor Rudolph, of
Sebastian Zaihand of his wife, SusannaSchlecht--
are illustratedon P1. I, Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5. In addition
we illustrate (P1. I, No. I) the medal of Niccolb
Madruzzo,which shows the artist's earliest style,
being, indeed, almost, if not quite, the only work
which he executed in Italy.' This medal has been
given without any authorityor evidence by various
writers,including Armand (I, 186) to Ant. Abondio
the elder ; and although some critics, such as the
author of the article in Meyer's 'Allgemeines
Kiinstler-Lexikon,'restore the medal to our artist,
there is still a general impression that it is the
work of his father.2 At the time when this medal
must have been executed Abondio was the pupil
of Leone Leoni, whose style he obviously copied,
1 rhe medal of Caterina Riva
may also possibly have been
made in Italy; that of Trezzo (1572) was probably made in
Spain. The reproductionson Plates I and IV are reduced by
about one-sixth,
2The latest writer on Abondio, Dr. Habich (in Thieme and
Becker's' Allgem. Kiinstler-Lexikon'), makes no mention of the
medal of Madruzzo,and apparentlyaccepts without questionas
Abondio'sall those hithertoascribedto him, except the portrait
of the artist himself (Armand,I, 267, I).
The monteith bowl, with London date-letter for
1698-99, is a very fine example, decorated with
panels formed of hollow scrolls and repouss6
work, and with the borough arms in relief.
It is a matter for great regret that two such
convenient opportunities for the preparationof a
comprehensive and well illustrated book on the
wealth of sacramental plate in the diocese of
Norwich as was afforded first at the Church
Congress held at Norwich some years ago, and
now this year at Yarmouth, have been allowed to
pass away unaccomplished. Though much was
done in this direction by the late Rev. C. R.
Manning, much yet remains to be done.
<&
reproduces exactly. It will be noticed that
Madruzzo is represented wearing the Fleece, to
which he had no right. This mistake, which is
probably due to the influence on the young artist
of the bust of Charles V on Leone's medal above
mentioned, is a sign of youthful inexperience.
There can be no doubt that obverse and reverse
belong to each other; we have not here a case of
a cast of a reverse by Leone being attached in
later times to an obverse by another artist. The
two occur conjoined as early as the time of
Luckius (1620);` but even without that evidence
their original connexion is clear to any one who
handles a specimen like the one before us.5
Abondio, then, learned his art from Leone
Leoni; but the other medals from his hand which
we illustrate show how the style of the medals
which he made on the north side of the Alps is,
though slightly different,yet essentially a genuine
development from the style of this Madruzzomedal.
Further, they show that the medals signed A. A.
and described below could never have been made
by the same man between his Madruzzoand his
northern medals.
These medals are usually signed AN. AB. (the
last two letters being often ligatured). The group
of medals of which we wish to relieve Abondio are
signed A. A.,6with one exception, which, though
unsigned, we are confident that no one will deny
to the artist who made the rest of the group. We
proceed to describethem.
I. Within a frame-like border, consisting of
volutes, scrolls and masks, and enclosing oval
field, a bust to r., elaborately draped; short beard
and moustache, curly hair; on the breast, a mask.
3 Arm., 1, 162, 1.
54 Luckius, ' Sylloge numismatum,'p. 124.
From the Rosenheim collection.
6 Abondiooccasionallyused these letters instead of AN. AB
(e.g. Pl. I, No. 2),so that we do not insist on removing fromhim
all medals so signed.
141
Some Italian lMedals
Around, PETRVS. DONELLA. CARPENSIS.
Below, A. A. Lead, diam. 59 mm. Rosenheim
collection, P1. II, I.
Nothing appears to be known of this person
except what is told us by his medal, viz., that he
came from Carpi.
2. Within a border, similar to that of No. I, but
without masks, a bust to 1., with slight drapery;
heavy moustache,short beard,curly hair; the bust
is supported by a mask and a half-figure of a
nude woman. Around, AVGV. ARDENTIVS.
FAVENTINVS. Lead, diam. 53 mm. Rosenheim
collection. P1. II, 2. This has been attached to
the well-known portraitof the painter Alessandro
Ardenti by Ruspagiari,7of which a good specimen
(from the British Museum)is illustratedon P1.II, 6.
Of Agostino Ardenti of Faenza nothing seems to
be known.
3. Within a border (similar to that of No. I, but
with the masks placed differently), a bust to 1.,
draped; moustache and short beard; the bust
supported at the back by a mask and bracket-like
ornament. Around, IVLIVS. ROS[C]IVS.
CARPE. Below, A. A. Diam. 61 mm. Armand-
Valton collection (Bibliothbque Nationale).8 P1.
II, 3. Giulio Rossi of Carpi seems to be other-
wise unknown.
4. Oval. Bust to r., with curly hair, long mous-
tache, flowing beard; drapedin mantle fastenedon
r. shoulder with elaborate bulla; under the mantle
a vest fastened at the neck with a ram's (?) head.
Around, rw GVIDVS. PANCIROLVS. REGIEN.
IVR. C. AN. AET. XL. On the truncation of
the arm, A. A. Size 75 by 61 mm. Armand-Valton
collection (Bibliotheque Nationale).9 P1. II, 4.
The age of Guido Panziruolo dates this medal to
the year 1563.
5. Within a volute and scroll border (generally
similar to No. I but without masks), a bust to 1.,
draped, with mask on breast, strikingly similar in
appearance and execution to Panziruolo (No. 4).
Around, ANTO. FRAN. DONI. FIOR. A. A.10
P1. II, 5 (after Mazzuchelli's engraving). Com-
parison of Nos. 4 and 5 points to the fact that
No. 4, in its present condition, is merely the oval
interior part of what was once a circular medal
with the border which is characteristic of this group.
It will not be denied that these five medals form
a group, hardly of high artistic value, but interest-
ing if only because of the curious mannerism with
which the decoration is treated. Further, no one
who takes the trouble to compare these medals
with the accredited work of Antonio Abondio will
fail to see that they have not the slightest con-
nexion with him.
If we wish to establish a connexion with a
7Armand, I, 210, 1.
8Armand, II, 233, 19=III, 129 K, ascribed to Abondio4
9Armand, III, 128,I,
10 Mazzuchelli
I, P1. xlix, 3; Arm. III, 128 E.
142
known artist we must turn to Ruspagiari. In the
pretty medal of an unknown lady here illustrated
(P1. II, 7)11 note the occurrence of the same kind
of border in a much simpler form; note also that
the brooch with which her draperyis fastened is
an animal's (lion's ?) mask. This medal is in good
taste, and the decoration affected by the artist of
our first five medals is just the sort of florid
'improvement' on his model which a pupil in the
age of mannerismwould be proud of making.
Of the five persons representedby A. A., one-
Augu. Ardentius-is a native of Faenza; two are
of Carpi; one of Reggio; and one of Florence.
These facts indicate an artist of the Emilia. It is
obviously tempting to suggest that either Ales-
sandro or Agostino Ardenti may claim the autho-
rity of the medals.
Alessandro Ardenti is known as a painter. He
was a nativeof Faenza ; he signed himselfALEXA.
ARDENTIVS. FAVENTINVS on a picture of
1565 in S. Paolo in Lucca, which city also contains
in different places three other pictures by him; he
worked afterwardsfor the court of Savoy.'2 There
exists or existed by him at Moncalieri,near Turin,
an Adoration of the Magi (1592), and at the Monte
della PietB, in Turin, a ConversionoJSt. Paul ; but
his best work is considered to be in portrait
painting, especially a likeness of Charles Emanuel,
duke of Savoy. Ardentidied in i595 in the service
of the court.
Now there exists a group of medals signed AR
representingCharles Emanuel and Emanuel Fili-
bert of Savoy, which have been without any reason
attributedto Ruspagiari.3 With these (on grounds
of style) may be classed a medal of Pietro Machia-
velli of Lucca,"4which is signed AAR. All these
medals, as well as some others of Savoyan per-
sonages, signed AtR," may possibly belong to Ales-
sandro Ardenti, who, as we have seen, worked in
Lucca and Savoy. We hope to return to this
subject on some future occasion. For the present
we will only say that if our surmise is correct,then
the group of medals by A. A. illustratedon Plate II
cannot be by Alessandro. Tentatively, we would
suggest that the signature conceals the name of
Agostino Ardenti, who was very probably Ales-
sandro's brother. It will be rememberedthat the
specimen of Agostino's portrait in the Rosenheim
collection is attached to the portraitof Alessandro.
1nLead, 69 mm. Rosenheim collection. Armand, I, 216, 5.
Signed A. R. on the shoulder.
12 He is claimed as a
Pisan artist by Morrona (' Pisa illustrata,'
II, p. 521), but without any apparent reason.
13Arm., I, 217, o ; 218, II ; III, 0oo, E.
"' Mem. de la Soc. nat. des Antiquaires de France,' XLVI
(1885), p. 265 ; Arm., III, 103, A. Mr. J. H. Fitzhenry possesses
a specimen (84 mm., silver parcel-gilt) which makes the signa-
ture AAR certain. It appears to read LVCIENSIS, but the
illustration in the ' Mem. de la Soc. des Ant.' shows that there
is a horizontal bar joining the I and E, making Luchensis.
15Arm., I, 218; 12 (Marie de Grillet), 13 (Beatrice Langosco
Scarampi).
5 5
?

4M

104
4 4

NOTES ON SOME ITALIAN

MEDALS (5:6). PLATE I
 or,,

it

I
3

/CZ

'i 5
Vol. 7
4 !7

NOTES ON SOME ITALIAN

MEDALS. PLATE II

This conjecture is put forward merely as an
indication of the direction in which research
should tend, not as a definite attribution. But at
least it may be regarded as certain that Antonio
Abondio is not responsiblefor this group of medals
signed A. A., nor Ruspagiari for those signed ,R.
Ruspagiarishould also be relieved of the medal of
Filiberto Pingone,16 which has absolutely no
relation to his style. Its high relief, method of
dating on the truncation, its reverse design, its
whole treatment and feeling, are as different from
his as possible. Closely related, in the manner of
treating the bust, to the medallist A. A. are
Bombarda and the artist who signs S, and who
has on quite insufficient evidence been identified
with Niccolo Signoretti.17We must for the present
be content to place S alongside of A. A. as a
probable pupil of Ruspagiari.
II
THE MEDALSOF NICCOL'oIII D'ESTE
Our excuse for returning to the still open
question of the origin of the medallic portraitsof
Niccolo III d'Este is that any piece of positive
evidence on the subject must be welcome. No
competent critic now admits the claim of these
odd pieces to rank as the work of Pisanello : but
it is hardly satisfactory to dismiss them without
attempting to find a new place for them. It has
already been suggested that the treatment of the
shield of arms on the reverse of the larger medal
(with the inscription in relief) points to the hand
of a goldsmith, and that the medalswere probably
made early in the forties by some pupil of Pisa-
nello at Ferrara.1" The piece before us (P1. III,
No. 3) makes it possible to go one step further,
though we are awarethat it is necessary to proceed
with great caution. The obverse differs in no
respect (except the absence of an inscription) from
other specimens of the smaller medal already
published(e.g. Pl. I11,4). But on the reverse,instead
of the gothic lettersN. M. P., which are found on
other specimens,19there are the letters Asur-
M place on December 26, 1441.
mounted by a crown, and also a monogram
apparently of the letters N. L. P. These letters
are not engraved directly on the metal, but were
evidently incised in the wax original from which
it was cast. They are quite carelessly engraved,
and obviously represent a mere memorandum
made on the wax original.
We would suggest, with all due reserve, that the
artist, whoever he was, made a wax model of the
head of Niccolb, and that, wishing to make a note
i"Armand, I, 262; III, Ioo, B. This medal may even be of
Flemish and not Italianorigin.
7Armand, III, 94, A.
18 Hill, ' Pisanello,' pp.
Io4, 105.
19The last letterhas been readF (Ferrariensis)and E (Estensis).
It is certainlyP. What it may mean we are unableto suggest
with confidence; but a conjectureis made below.
Some Italian Medals
of the subject, he covered the back of the slate
tablet, on which he had worked the portrait,with
wax, and scratched these letters on it. We would
explain the monogram N L P as Nicolaus Leonelli
Pater, and A M as AmadeusMediolanensis.
Amadeo da Milano is known as a medallist
by two medals of the brothers Leonello (Heiss,
' Amad. da Milano,'P1. I, 2, 3) and Borso d'Este
(P1. III, 6). Their date is uncertain, but there is a
general feeling that they are later than the Este
medals of Pisanello, which seem, at the earliest,
to have been begun in I441. From the fact that
the title given to Leonello on Amadeo's medal is
simply Dominus MarchioEstensis (not Ferrariensis,
etc.), it has been argued that the medal dates from
before the death of Niccol6 III. But we must be
careful how we argue from titulatureon medals;
the full title of a ruler was not always necessarily
expressed on his medals. Merely on this ground,
then, we cannot say that Amadeo's medal of
Leonello dates from the lifetime of Leonello's
father. But the point to be noticed is that Amadeo's
medals of Leonello and Borso are a pair, and that
exactly the same title is given to the two brothers.
From this it is a fair inference that they were at
the time on an equality; and that time can hardly
have been after the death of Niccolo. So far as
we can judge, Leonello appears, on Amadeo's
medal, to be somewhatyounger than on the medals
by Pisanello. It has been urged:0that the device
of the blindfolded lynx on Amadeo's medal must
have been copied from Pisanello's work, and that
we cannot accept the only other alternative,that
Amadeo (or N iccol6 Baroncelli, who also uses it)
invented this device, and Pisanello copied it.
But there is yet another way out of the difficulty :
these three reverses with the lynx go back to a
common original, which may have been designed
by some one else to whom the young marquis
entrusted the working-out of his imprese.
There is no valid reason, then, for denying that
Amadeo's medals of Leonello and Borso were
made before the death of Niccol6 III, which took
He had no com-
mission, we may suppose, to do the portraitof the
old marquis,but we may well believethat he would,
for his own satisfaction, make an attempt at it.
The monogram and the crown together were
probably elements in the artist's idea of a reverse
design. Afterwards, we suppose, he incised the
inscription on the obverse, and also made a reverse
design consisting of the three Gothic letters,
N. M. P. (Can it be that these mean Nicolaus
Marchio Pater? If Latin of an equally canine order
were not common on Italian medals, and if it did
not otherwise appear that Amadeo had commissions
especially for the portraits of the sons of Niccol6,
we should hesitate to make the suggestion.) Finally,
coming perhaps under the influence of Pisanello,
toHill, op.cit. p. 148.
M 147
SomeItalian Medals
he made the better medal (P1. III, 5) in which the
hideousness of Niccolb's cranium is disguised by a
cap. But it is to be noticed-a small point-that
on all these the inscription gives the name of the
marquis in the genitive, Nicolai, not, as is usual in
the official medals of the time, in the nominative.
It only remains to say that the accreditedmedals
of Leonello and Borso by Amadeo da Milano
offer support, in point of style, to the attribution
here suggested. The resemblance in the treat-
ment of the bust, its high relief, and the style of
the reverse designs, suggesting, as we have seen,
the hand of a goldsmith, are points distinctly in its
favour. To be fair, we are obliged to note that
the placing of the crown above the artist's initials,
and not above the monogram in which the
marquis's name is concealed, might be urged
against us. The reply is, however, obvious; no
argument can be based on the arrangementof the
three elements in a mere private memorandum,
such as this seems to be.
III
PASQUALE MALIPIERO,DOGEOF VENICE(1457-
1462).
A medal of this doge by Guidizzani has long
been known,2' and the existence of another
suspected. For Friedlinder, in publishing the
medals in the Berlin collection and in S. Mark's
Library,noted that Cicognara22spoke of 'medals'
made by Guidizzani for this Doge, comparing
them favourably with the medals of Orsato
Giustiniani (procurator of S. Mark's in 1459) and
of Colleoni ; these he says are operemediocrissinte,
whereas the medals of Malipierohave belli rovesci
e degni degli artisti pill chiari. (Modern critics
will hardly endorse his judgment as to the com-
parative merits of the medals.) Friedlander has
suggested that a medal in the library of S. Mark's
is by Guidizzani, but it in fact comes from the
hand of Pietro da Fano.2 The medal before us
(P1. III, 2.), a re-casting in bronze, probably from
a lead original," though rough in style, sufficiently
represents the artist's manner, and is a distinct
addition to our knowledge of his work. The bust
of the doge is representedin cap and ducal robes;
around is the inscription PASQVALIS. MARI-
PETRVS. VENETVM. DIGNISSIMVS. DVX.
ET. P. P. On the reverse is the inscription
CONCORDIA. AVGVSTA. CONSVLTI. VENE-
TIQ: SENATVS; in the exergue S. V. Q. C.
and the signature OPVS. MARCI. GVIDIZANI.
The design consists of two allegorical figures
joining hands, the one holding an olive-branch,
the other a palm-branch. These personifications
represent, probably, some such conceptions as
Peace and Victory, rather than the Great Council
21
22 Friedliinder,p. 85,
no. 3.
V. 412.
Ia Armand, III, 5 B.
Diam. 91 mm. Rosenheimcollection.
148
and the Senate. The inscriptionCoincordia Augusta
and the scheme are derived, of course,from Roman
coins ;"5the letters S. V. Q. C. (which seem to be
an abbreviationof the last words of the inscription
in a differentorder) are placed in the exergue in
the manner of the S. C. on Roman coins. The
allusion which this somewhat clumsy adaptationof
a Roman idea is intended to convey is not quite
clear; but it must be rememberedthat the deposi-
tion of the Doge Francesco Foscari, to whom
Malipieroimmediatelysucceeded, had been effected
by the Council of Ten in conjunction with the
Privy Council and a Giunta of twenty-five of the
Senate. On the other hand it appears26 that the
Ten refrained from using their influence in the
election of the new doge ; so that the two bodies
whose Concordia is alluded to are perhaps the
Maggior Consiglio and the Senate.27
The last point of interest to be noted in this
medal is that it alone gives the full name of the
artist. Whether there is other documentary
authority for his name Marco, or whether it was
only by a judicious conjecture, or by a knowledge
of the drawingmentioned below, that Fabriczywas
able in this respect to forestall the evidence of the
medal now published, we do not know.
We may here add the substance of a letter from
Count Papadopoli bearing on the subject.28 In a
collection of drawings and engravings of medals
made by Cav. Lazari, formerly Director of the
Museo Civico at Venice, under No. 693, is a rough
sketch of the medal in question, with the note: 'I
explain the abbreviations Senatus Veneti Que Cives.'
Count Papadopoli points out that at Venice the
citizens took no part in public manifestations.
He remarks that the dogate of Pasquale Malipiero
was characterized by no remarkable event to
which the reverse of the medal can be referred,
unless it be the League between the rulers of
Christendom promoted by Pius II; the Venetian
Republic sent ambassadorsto Mantua, where the
pope was, to express its adhesion to this League.
In any case the legend remains, he thinks,unintel-
ligible, since the word coitsultumin the sense of
council or deliberativebody is not to be found in
the dictionaries,and, so far as he knows, was never
used at Venice.
25Lauranauses the same inscriptionwith a personificationof
Concord,directly borrowedfrom Romancoins, on his medalof
Louis XI (Fabriczy,Eng. trans. Pl. VIII, 3); and Cristoforo di
Geremiamadea similartranscriptin his medalof Augustus(ibid,
p. 6I58).
Romanin,iv, 292.
2 The orderof the words in the legend shows, to begin with
thatthe medallist'sLatinitywas not his strongpoint. He appears
to intend Consultifor a genitive singular. There is not much
authorityfor the use of consultumin the sense of concilium;and
it is to be suspectedthat he intendsit for the genitive of the fourth
declensionsubstantiveconsultus,which was sometimes used in
the sense of 'council.'
28We desire to expressour thanks to Count Papadopoli and
also to Mr. William Miller of Rome, who communicatedour
difficultyto him.

IV
PAUL II
Bust of Paul II to 1. in tiara and cope. Around
in fine bold lettering, + PAVLVS VENETVS
? ?
PP MCCCC LXIIII. (The stops betweenthe
" are
words lozenges with incurved sides; the letter
N is retrograde; after the fourth C of the date is
a small mask.)
Rev. Cross-keyssurmounted by tiara. Bronze,
94 mm. Rosenheim collection. P1. IV, 2.
At the top and bottom of this piece are the marks
of some kind of attachments which have been
broken away. At first sight they suggest that the
piece is cast from some huge bulla, and that they
representthe points where the tapes issued from
the original. But the extremely fine casting and
thinness of the piece preclude this hypothesis.
Nor for the same reason can it be surmoiule on a
morse, apart from the fact that the attachments
would probably in that case have been at the sides
and not at the top and bottom. We publish the
piece for what it is-a fine decorativecast medallion
of the pope-and hope that furtherresearchwill be
able to explain the object for which it was intended.
The portraiton the obverse bears a certain resem-
blance to the medal of Sixtus IV attributed to
Guazzalotti.
V medals of Leonello d'Este. There again we have
GUGLIELMO BATONATTI
Bust to 1. in close-fitting cap and coat. Around,
GVILIELMVS BATONATTI [E]TAT. SVE
ANO. 33.
Rev. A unicorn springing to 1.; above, a tau-
cross; all in a wreath. Bronze, 40 mm. Rosen-
heim collection. P1. III, I.
This medal, previously known from a defective
and smaller casting in the Dreyfus collection," has
been wrongly described as representing 'Gugl.
Battista Natti.' It is a work of the Roman school,
of the last quarter of the fifteenth century, and
belongs to a group which has been associated with
the medallist Lysippus.30 This group includes a
number of young Roman clerics and officials of
the Curia. We may mention as coming close in
style to the piece before us the medals of Bernardo
Gamb...... of 1485,'1 Diom. Caraffa,S3 the young
Candida, and Rafael Riario. The attribution of
these to Lysippus himself is by no means proven.
The tau-cross and the unicorn of the reverse are
presumably emblems of a religious life and
chastity.
VI
GALEOTUSFERREUS URSINUS
Bust to r., bearded, in cloak. Around,
GALEOTUS FERREVS VRSINVS.
29
Armand, II, 76, 15 (37 mm.).
30 Fabriczy(Eng. trans.),p. I61.
31 Arm., II, 64, 15.
32Bode in ' Zeitschr.f. bild. Kunst,'xv., p. 39.
Some Italian Medals
Rev. A serpent holding an inflated sail.
Around, PVER DVMQ SENEX. Bronze,45 mm.
Rosenheim collection. Pl. IV, I.
This medal, which by its style must be dated
about 1500, offers many puzzles. To the identity
of the person we have no satisfactory clue. He
does not seem to be a member of the many-
branched Orsini family, and it is not easy to
explain Ursinus as giving the name of the place
where he was born.3 It is worth noting that the
name GaleotusFerreus or Galeotto dal Ferro was
borne, at a much later date, by a lawyer, a native
of Padua, who taught at Salerno and Messina,
and died in his native city in 1614. Possibly the
man represented here was an ancestor of his.
Researches made at Padua through the kindness
of Prof. Giacomo Tropea have failed to discover
any Paduan celebrity of this name as early as our
medal. The meanings of the device and motto
on the reverse are obscure. The Latin declines to
be construed according to classical rules, and we
can only suggest that the inventor of the motto
supposed dumnqueto be the Latin for the Italian
dunque. Even then the sense is not very clear.
But obviously the reference is to some antithesis
between youth and age, such as is intended by the
impresa on the reverse of one of Pisanello's
a sail, but it is on a mast, beside which are seated
a young and an old man-emblems, apparently,
of youth and age.34 Possibly the sail is shorthand
for the ship of life, that steers its course from
youth to age; and the serpent symbolizes the
wisdom which takes advantage of every favouring
breeze.
VII
THE MEDALLIST, GIOVANNI FALIER
Dr. Bode was the first51to publish a medal with
the full signature lOANNIS FALETRO. It is a
unique medal of a Presbyter Marcus in the Simon
collection at Berlin. The artist's name is stated,
on Dr. Ludwig's authority, to have been Giovanni
Falier. This is not, however, the only work that
we have from his hand; for the signature4 F,
which appears on a well-known medal of Andrea
Gritti, procurator of S. Mark's,is his (P1. IV, 3).
The 0 is no Greek letter, as has usually been sup-
posed, but is a monogram of the letters I O. On
good specimens it will be seen that the lower part
of the ring goes over, the upper part under, the
vertical stroke, showing that we have here not one
letter, but two; so that the signature is really
IO. F. As regards style, there is a very distinct
resemblance between the obverses of the Presbyter
Marcus and the Gritti medals, in relief, in compo-
sition, and in the treatment of the hair.
33 Ursinium in Corsica (Ajaccio)
would hardly produce the
adjectivalform Ursinus !
3* Hill, ' Pisanello,' p. 146.
85In the 'Zeitschr. fir bildende Kunst,' xv. (1904),P. 40.
'49
Some Italian Medals
The date of the Gritti medal must be fixed
between 1509, when he became procurator of San
Marco, and 1523, when he was elected doge. But
it is possible to fix the date more exactly. The
reverse represents the siege of a city ; a breach is
apparent in the walls. The man on horseback is
undoubtedly Gritti himself. In 1512 he took
Brescia and Bergamo for the emperor from the
French; on the other hand, four years later, in
i516, he recaptured Brescia for the French from
the emperor. We are surely justified in assuming
that the reverse refers to one or the other of these
successes, and the medal thereforedates from 151 2
or 1516.
VIII
'ANDREA MAGNO, PRAEFECT OF PADUA
Bust to 1. with short, square-trimmedbeard and
moustache, lank hair, wearing close-fitting robe
with sash over shoulder, and cap. Around,
ANDREAS MAGNVS PRAEFECTVS PADVE
(a leaf as final stop). Bronze, 63 mm. Rosenheim
collection. P1. IV, 5.
Andrea Magno, a member of the famous
Venetian family, and himself a person of great
political importance,was made governor of Padua
in September, 1520; his successor, Francesco
Donado, was elected in February,1522, and Andrea
returned to take part in Venetian affairsin July of
that year." This medal therefore dates between
the end of 1520 and the middle of 1522.
Pomedello's medal of Stefano, Andrea's son, is
dated 15i9. The medal before us, which has many
admirable qualities, presents strong analogies in
the treatment of the hair, dress, etc., to various
pieces by Pomedello and Giulio della Torre. For
the official dress with the sash we may compare
the portraits by Pomedello of Tommaso Mauro,
governorof Verona,by della Torre-ofBartolommeo
Socini, and by Gambello of Giovanni Bellini.
lettering this medal is close to one
particularly
della Torre representing the painter Caroto.1Y
Nevertheless, as Pomedello did the portrait of
son about a year before this medal was made, we
are perhaps on surer ground if we attribute it to
him rather than to della Torre.
SMarino Sanuto, ' Diarii,' xxix, 146; xxxii, 445; xxxiii, 38.
2 which Cheke sojourned long while abroad.
Friedliinder, P1. XX, 14.
ISO
IX
SIR JOHN CHEKE
Bust to r., drapedin antique fashion, with bulla
on r. shoulder; long beard, hair short. Across
the field IOANNES CHECVS. No reverse.
Bronze, 54 mm. Rosenheim collection. P1. IV, 4.
This medal,which is theworkof an accomplished,
though somewhat academic, medallist, represents
the celebrated English humanist, John Cheke
None of the other known portraits
(1514-1557).
seems to represent him in profile, but com-
parison with the engraved portrait in Henry
Holland's 'Heroologia,' and another small en-
graving in the British Museum representing him
as professor at Strassburg, leaves no doubt as
to the identity of the person. These engravings
are nearerto the medal than the portraitin Strype's
'Life,' and the portrait by Fittler, after Skelton's
drawing from a picture at Ombersley Court,
Worcestershire,in which the nose is rathermore
aquiline. For the original suggestion that ' Ioannes
Checus' is Sir John Cheke we are indebted to
Mr. C. R. Peers. Before the identification of
the portrait, we had already inclined to the view
that, if the medal is Italian, as it certainly seems to
be, it must representsome literaryman of Padua,
of the first half of the sixteenth century. Although
the method of placing the legend across the field is
most unusual on Italian medals of this period, the
treatment otherwise suggests the Paduan classiciz-
ing school. It is satisfactory,therefore,to find that
Sir John Cheke was at one time at Padua. In 1554
he received a royal licence to travel abroad. He
spent some time at Basel, and eventually made his
way to Italy; and we find him at Padua,lecturingto
Englishmen on Demosthenes. Then he returned
to Strassburg,which he left early in 1556 in order
In to return to England. There can be little doubt
that the medal was made at Padua (the only place
by in
Italy mentioned by Strype in connexion with
the his travels, and evidently the place where he spent
most of his time) in 1555. In spite of the
peculiarity already noticed, the medal is much
more likely to have been made in Italy than in
Basel or Strassburg,the only cities out of Italy in
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NOTES ON SOME ITALIAN
MEDALS. PLATE III
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NOTES ON SOME ITALIAN

MEDALS (5; 6). PLATE IV