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Medallist: Petrecino of Florence, ca. 1450-1500
commemorating Borso d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio, 1450-1471
Gilt cast bronze medal 1460, Ferrara. (Ø 96 mm; 303,17 gr). BORSIVS DVX MVTINE Z RGII MARCHIO ESTENSIS RODIGII COMES. Bust left, with long hair, wearing a rich dress with jewel on breast, and cap with fluted crown, edge turned up all around and jewel at side // OPVS PETRECINI DEFLORETIA MCCCCLX. In a rocky landscape, a hexagonal font with open lid, showing a scoop within ; on the sides of the font, incised crosses ; above, the sun with human face shining.
Exceptional medal of the highest rarity. Suspension hole. Extremely fine contemporary cast with sharp details
Lot 3 / estimation CHF 100’000/ hammer price CHF 80’000
Reference: Armand I, p. 33, n°1 (Ø 95 mm); Hill, Corpus I, p. 26, n°96 (Ø 95-97 mm); Hill & Pollard (Kress Coll.) n°36 (Ø 96 mm).
Provenance: Collection John R. Gaines, Auction Morton & Eden 12, London (UK), 21 April 2005, lot n°2.
Auction Leu Numismatik 74, Zurich (Switzerland), 19 October 1998, lot n°720.
This impressive gilt bronze medal was crafted in 1460 in Ferrara, by the Italian medallist Petrecino da Firenze (ca. 1450-1500), for an intriguing and fascinating ruler, Borso d’Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio, and Marquis of Ferrara.
Born on 24th of August 1413, Borso was the third illegitimate son of Niccolo III d’Este, Marquis of Ferrara and his mistress Stella de’ Tolomei.
Borso’s improbable access to the throne of Ferrara was the result of a series of tragical events and usurpations: In 1425, Ugo d’Este, his oldest brother and designated successor to the throne, was sentenced to death by his own father for his relationship with his stepmother, Parisina Malatesta.
In 1450, his older brother, Leonello d’Este, known for its interest towards humanism and art, and beautifully depicted on one of the most famous medals by Pisanello (see Lot n°2 in this sale), suddenly died of unknown causes. Although Leonello d’Este had designed his son to be his successor, and despite the presence of legitimate children of Niccolo III, Borso d’Este managed to become the ruler of the city in 1450 and was confirmed in his titles by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, on 18th of May 1452.
On 12th April 1471, in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Borso was appointed as Duke of Ferrara by Pope Paul II.
On 20th August 1471, he died, a couple of days after his return to Ferrara from Rome, where he enjoyed one month of partying. He never married and left no heirs. His successor was his half-brother Ercole I d‘Este.
This intricate access to the ruling position in the city of Ferrara, as well as Borso‘s illegitimate origins, have been the reasons, in addition to a personal ambition, that led him to use magnificence as a way to rule and to gain legitimation and respect from his peers and subjects.
This magnificence was first illustrated by the undertaking of numerous large urbanistic and architectural projects aimed for the well-being of his subjects: a new campanile, river diversion, expansion of city walls, etc. However, after the confirmation of his title by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1452, Borso‘s magnificence was shifted to a more restricted and private audience, with the aim to impress his peers and other rulers. A new ambition that this exceptional and opulent medal, aimed at being exhibited and offered to friends, courtiers and dignitaries, is an impressive testimony of it.
During the second half of the 15th century, Ferrara became the seat of one of the most prominent Italian courts, achieving a reputation as an important leading cultural centre. But unlike Florence or Rome, Ferrara and its leading families, were deeply attached to the medieval culture.
The family d‘Este, which had ruled over the city for more than a century, was one of the oldest noble families in northern Italy and had a long tradition of service to the Holy Roman Emperor, as well as a great affinity for the French kingdom and Burgundy. This chivalric tradition was demonstrated by the organization of large jousting events, an insatiable passion for horses, hunting dogs and falconry. In the arts, this special taste was illustrated by the continuity of the use of Gothic art as well as a special interest in illuminations, beautifully illustrated by the well-known Bible of Borso d‘Este, produced around the same time as this medal.
And it comes as no surprise that this medal, considered as one of the best achievements of the Italian Renaissance medallic art, is also a continuation of this taste for Gothic art.
While the naturalistic way the bust of Borso d‘Este is represented with its wrinkles and double chin clearly places this medal in the Renaissance, two elements can be linked to Gothic art:
Firstly, the iconography of the reverse. The hexagonal font with open lid, standing in a rocky landscape, a scoop showing within, is clearly an „imprese“ or personal heraldic badge, in the long medieval tradition, and can also be found used as such in Borso‘s Bible.
Secondly, the impressive gilding of this medal. Found on no other specimens known of this type, and making this example of the highest rarity, it can directly be linked to a Gothic taste for gold, as illustrated in illuminations and by artists like Gentile da Fabriano and Cosimo Tura.
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