Page 77 - Best Bid 7 | 2017

VENEZIA
mARCANTONIO gIusTINIAN (1684-1688)
OsELLA IN ORO DA 4 ZECChINI ANNO I (1684)

OsELLA ANNO I (1684)
sTRuCK IN gOLD “DA 4 ZECChINI”

VENDuTo a
SolD aT
€ 11.000

This is a “matrimonial” medal, an

object that was given by the couple to

the wedding attendants and was again

produced in gold, silver or bronze

depending on the economic resources

the Papacy of the couple and the status of the

recipients.. This is a historic testimony

the traditional events for the Feasts of has always been one of the of a custom from scandinavia and
is a little masterpiece, created in
saints Peter and Paul stand out thanks
to their recurrent and regular release. institutions most represented approximately 1660, when Baroque art
was at its peak in germany.
This annual release, which falls to the in the issue of medals
elected Pope on that date, always bears No written piece on medals, no

the year of papacy of that Pope and is matter how short, would be complete

issued in the three metals typical of without a mention of the famous

monetisation: gold, silver and copper. since these are gifts, the Venetian oselle, an example of which is published below, taken
gold medals are reserved for the most important people the from the twice-cited Bolaffi auction on which we will no longer
Pope meets with and far fewer are therefore coined than in the dwell since the topic has already been examined at length in no.
other metals, which makes them much rarer from a collector’s 2 of this series which is available for anybody wishing to satisfy
perspective.
their curiosity on the matter.

The annual medals always bear an effigy of the Pope on the The oselle were not medals of merit, this function was reserved
obverse and a depiction of the most important religious, for the lesser-known medals of the Venetian senate which were
political or administrative event of the year on the reverse. A awarded to those who distinguished themselves with particular
collection of annual pontifical medals therefore represents in acts of civil and military valour. They were a sign of thanks and
images an extraordinary succession of events that covers four homage, for example, given to ambassadors from the European
centuries: a tangible testimony to the history of the church and powers when they left their service in the Republic of Venice
the Papacy. to return home. This was a series in gold that again represented
see as an example the medal of Pope gregory XVI recently a historic testimony to events, facts and personalities whose
auctioned at Asta Bolaffi. memory would be lost among the thousands of pages of
The same auction included another gold medal of great interest archives left to us by the Republic of Venice.
but from to an entirely different geographical and temporal
context: we are taken over the Baltic sea and approximately But that is another story, which we trust we will be able to tell
two centuries back in time. you another time.

75b 7.2017 highlights