Frederick III (1413-1493), Holy Roman Emperor (1452)
Obverse: The origins of the medal in Italy are associated with the 1438/9 visit of a Byzantine emperor. Here the 1469 portrait of another visiting emperor reminds the viewer that commemorative medals were to be associated with the bronze coins of Augustus and his successors.
Reverse: Fifteenth-century medals were objects to be handled, turned over and passed from hand to hand rather than permanently displayed, and their two sides were not always aligned. This reverse scene of Frederick III creating knights on the Ponte Sant’ Angelo in Rome, as he did in January 1469, is seen upside down.
Reverse: Fifteenth-century medals were objects to be handled, turned over and passed from hand to hand rather than permanently displayed, and their two sides were not always aligned. This reverse scene of Frederick III creating knights on the Ponte Sant’ Angelo in Rome, as he did in January 1469, is seen upside down.
Artwork Details
- Title: Frederick III (1413-1493), Holy Roman Emperor (1452)
- Maker: Bertoldo di Giovanni (Italian, born Florence (?) ca. 1430–40, died 1491 Poggio a Caiano)
- Date: 1469
- Culture: Italian
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: 56.5 mm
- Classification: Medals and Plaquettes
- Credit Line: Gift of Assunta Sommella Peluso, Ignazio Peluso, Ada Peluso and Romano I. Peluso, 2010
- Object Number: 2010.417.1
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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Bertoldo di Giovanni
model 1480 (old aftercast)
Bertoldo di Giovanni
ca. 1468–69
Bertoldo di Giovanni
1478
Bertoldo di Giovanni
1478
Bertoldo di Giovanni
1430–40
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