Albrecht Dürer (obverse); Crest (reverse)
Matthes Gebel, German, about 1500 - 1574
Unknown German, German
1527
Lead
Overall: 1 9/16 × 1 9/16 × 3/16 in. (3.9 × 3.9 × 0.4 cm)
Weight: 23 g (0.1 lb.)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Roger Arvid Anderson Collection - 250th Anniversary Gift, 1769-2019
2016.64.138
Geography
Place Made: Germany, Europe
Period
1400-1600
Object Name
Sculpture: Medal
Research Area
Sculpture
On view
Inscriptions
Obverse: IMAGO ALBERTI DVRERI AETATIS SVAE LVI Reverse: INCLITA VIRTVS MDXVII
Label
Portrait medals preserved the memory and identity of the sitter. While they had no worth in an economic sense, they held significant social value. Often combining a portrait, an inscription, and a personal emblem, portrait medals functioned as a kind of propaganda, concentrating key information about the depicted person’s wealth, position, and likeness. The circulation of portrait medals materialized the relationship between the giver and the recipient, and individuals exchanged such gifts in order to forge relationships, seal political alliances, join families in marriage, or show favor. In amassing the portraits of contemporaries, relatives, rivals, and nobility, Europeans articulated their social networks in concrete form. Brought together in the home, often in large quantities, medals functioned in conversation with one another and with their viewers.
From the 2024 exhibition Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, curated by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art, and Ashley B. Offill, Curator of Collections
Course History
History 42.01, Women's Gender, and Sexuality Studies 22.01, Gender & European Society, Patrick Meehan, Spring 2024
History 96.39, Saints and Relics, Cecilia Gaposchkin, Spring 2024
Italian 1.01, Introductory Italian I, Noemi Perego, Spring 2024
Italian 11.01, Intensive Italian, Floriana Ciniglia, Spring 2024
Italian 2.01, Introductory Italian II, Floriana Ciniglia, Spring 2024
Italian 3.01, Introductory Italian III, Tania Convertini, Spring 2024
Italian 3.02, Introductory Italian III, Giorgio Alberti, Spring 2024
Exhibition History
Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, Citrin Family Gallery and Engles Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 23, 2024–March 22, 2025.
Provenance
Acquired by Roger Arvid Anderson, San Francisco, California, before 2011; lent to present collection, 2011; given to present collection, 2016.
This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.
We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu