NOTES ON ITALIAN MEDALS-XI
BY G. F. HILL
I. A FORGERY OF PISANELLO'S SIGNA-
TURE.
HERE is a small medal of Leonello
d d'Este, bearing the signature
PISANVS F, which has generally
been accepted as from Pisanello's
hand.' The reverse type is the myste-
rious impresa of the pierced vase containing
olive branches, with anchors fastened to the
handles by chains, one of which is broken.
It is figured in PLATE I, C. I have elsewhere
pointed out that "the character of the work, at
once coarse and petty, the weakness of the letter-
ing, the occurrence of the border of dots, and the
unusual form of the signature itself conspire to
I might
suggest that the signature is a forgery".
have added the most convincing proof of all, to
wit, that the signature is placed over the border;
in other words, a mould was made from the
original unsigned medal, and the signature
clumsily added in the mould. All the known
specimens seem to be after-casts; it may safely
be predicted that if a specimen with any pretence
to be an early cast is found, it will be without this
misleading signature. The medal may, then, be
excluded from any list of genuine works by
Pisanello. But who made it ? Here an answer
possessing some show of probability is forth-
coming. The words of the inscription on the
obverse are divided by a peculiar stop, common
enough, I believe, in German inscriptions of the
late fifteenth or sixteenth century, but excessively
rare on Italian medals; it resembles a long
italic / with a lozenge-shaped expansion in the
middle. I know of only two Italian medals on
which this stop is used; the one in question, and
the large medal of Leonello d'Este with the lynx
signed by Nicholaus.2 These stops occur on the
obverses, but not on the reverse of either medal;
on the other hand, on the reverses, lozenges are
found in the inscription on the small piece, and
in the signature of Nicholaus on the other. The
border of dots, sunk between two plain linear
circles, also occurs on some, though not all,
specimens of Nicholaus's medal. The letteringof
the two pieces shows no essential differences. It
is true that while the so-called Pisanello uses an
A with a left-hand serif at the top (except in the
false signature), Nicholaus uses a plain A. This,
however, means little; there are medals by
Pisanello in which both forms are used in-
* For the previous articles see Burlington Magazine, Vol. ix,
p. 408 (September, 1906); Vol. x, p. 384 (March, 1907) ; Vol. xii,
p. 141 (December, 1907) ; Vol. xiii, p. 274 (August, 19o8); Vol. xiv,
p. 210 (January, 1909); Vol. xv, pp. 31, 94 (April and May,
Igo9); Vol. xvi, p. 24 (October, 1909); Vol. xvii, p. 143 (June,
Vol. xviii, p. 13 (October, 1910o).
19io);
'Reproduced in Heiss, Vittore Pisano, Pl. IV, and Hill,
Pisanello, P1. 37.
2Friedl1inder, Ital. Scliaumiinzen, Taf. ix; Heiss, NiccolM,etc.,
Pl. I, I.
138
differently,as was natural at this time of transition
from Gothic to humanistic lettering.
Who Nicholaus was we do not know for certain,'
but there seems to be more than a mere probability
that he made not merely the interesting, if ugly,
medal which he signed, but also the poor little
piece which, thanks to some later bronze-caster,
has got itself fathered on Pisanello.
2. A NEW MEDAL BY SPERANDIO.
M. Jean de Foville has recently issued an
interestingstudy of the work of this artist,in which
he has made an attempt to reconstruct the
chronology of his medals. The arrangement
which he proposes marks a distinct advance upon
our previous knowledge, although much remains
most uncertain. He has not added anything
of importance to the actual medallic material;
and he has, I do not know whether deliberately,
omitted a medal of Ercole d'Este, published
some time ago by Signor Venturi' from the
unique specimen at Modena. On the reverse
of this piece are represented four putti receiving
from the heavens a shower of the diamond
rings entwined with flowers which formed the
device of Ercole. This medal, so far as can be
judged from the photograph, is perfectly sound.
In examining the British Museum series of
Sperandio's medals in the light of M. de Foville's
book, I came across the following piece, which
seems to be otherwise unknown [PLATE I, B]:
Obv.IVSTIN
IVRIS ? CON ?IANO-CAVITELLO'CrEMONE"
EQVITI ? MERITO ? DICAT ?
MIRIFI[CO?] Bust to left wearing mortier and
robe.
Rev. FORTITVDINE IVSTITIA * NON
"
SVPERAT[VS?]. A nude female figure, with
flying scarf and streaming hair, riding to left on a
lion; below, engraved, "OPVS SP[ERAN]DEI*
Bronze, 86 mm. British Museum.
Giustiniano was the son of the jurisconsult
Nicolb Cavitelli of Cremona and his wife
Guiduccia della Cella; he was himself a juris-
consult and a knight. He seems to have migrated
to Hungary, where he served the king for some
time and became president of the Hungarian
Senate. He died in 1485 at Belgrad, and was
buried there.5 The medal, in its treatment of the
bust (not merely in the dress) comes very close to
that of the Ferrarese Prisciano de' Prisciani of
1473,and was probably made about the same time.
As a work of art, if that name is allowed to it, it
3The identification with Niccol6 Baroncelli is little more
than a guess. Mr. Rosenheim suggests that Andrea di Niccolo
of Viterbo, who worked as jeweller for Paul II, and probably
made the large medal of that Pope with the crossed keys on
the reverse (Numismatic Chronicle, igio, pp. 350, 351), may be
his son. He himself, to judge from the workmanship of his
medals, was certainly a jeweller. But Niccolb is one of the
commonest of names.
4 Le Galletie Naz. Ital., I, PI. XIII, 2.
5Franc. Arisius, Cremona literata (1702) I, p. 338
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NOTES ON ITALIAN MEDALS-XI

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NOTES ON ITALIAN MEDALS--XI

PLATE II

has all the faults and hardly any of the few virtues
of the exasperating medallist who made it. My
excuse for publishing it is that Sperandio,to judge
by the number of commissions which he received,
was evidently considered by his contemporariesthe
leading medallist of his time; and therefore any
authentic work of his is a document which
demands publication, apart from what we may
consider its artisticclaims. The apparentlyunique
specimen before us is imperfectly preserved,and,
moreover, was never properly finished, but it is
well known that it is more difficultto find finished
specimens of this medallist's work than of any
other's. He was too careless or too much pressed
to attend to details, either of conception or of
execution.
3. BERNARDO NASI.
The striking medal of Bernardo Nasi illustrated
in PLATEI, A,was acquired by Mr. Henry Oppen-
heimer at a recent London sale. With his kind
permission, I bring it to the notice of the readers
of this magazine, although it must be admitted
that I can offer nothing more than a string of
doubtful suggestions in interpretation of its
meaning.
Obv. BERNARDVS NASIVS @VIRTVTE
PREDITVS Bust to left, wearing cap with
'
back flap turned up and fastened in front with
cord, and vest and robe with lapels.
Rev. B VENIT VIDIT " ET * VICIT-On a
" at Trent,8 was able to throw some light on the
high platform, decorated with panels in relief and
a shield, three men seated conversing with gestures
-viz., in centre Nasi, facing, in civil costume; on
the right a long-haired man in armour, his left
hand on his sword at his side; on the left another
man (short-haired) in armour, with a baton in his
right hand; in the background, on the left, three
tents surmounted by fleurs-de-lis (a helmet and
shield in the opening of one), and a flag with a
plain cross flying from a lance; on the right three
tents (one with a small flag, in the opening of
another a battle-axe and saddle ?) and five lances,
two with flags.
Plain raised rim and triangularstops on both sides. Bronze.
95'5mm. OppenheimerCollection.
Bernardo di Lutozzo Nasi is said to have been
prior of Florence in 1478; ambassador to King
Ferrante of Naples in 148o; one of the Mastersof
the Mint in 1487; commissary of war against the
Pisans in 1494; ambassadorto the Pope in 1497;
and again prior of Florence in 1504.6 It is clear
that the medal commemorates some alleged
successful interference of Nasi as a diplomatist
between two generals. I can only suggest that he
may have claimed to have arrangedaffairsbetween
CharlesVIII and Piero de' Medici, when the latter
s.n. Nasi ; I. Orsini,
I Crollalanza,DizionarioStorico-Blasonico,
Storia delle Monetedella Rep.Fior., p. 254. Mr.Wood-Brown,
who has kindly examined Fr. Gabbriello Nasi's Storia della
Fam.Fior.de'Nasi (MS. Magliab.,class. xxvi, cod. 151),informs
me that it gives no informationaboutthis memberof the family.
L 143
Notes on Italian Medals
went out to meet the French king at Pisa in
1494.
So far as I know, there is no authenticatedportrait
of the son of Lorenzo. The small scale of the
portraitsmakesit impossibleto speakwith certainty;
at firstI was inclined to recognize in the long-haired
general on the right Lorenzo himself ; but it is not
entirely impossible that he should be CharlesVIII.
Then the curly-haired younger man would be
Piero. The fleurs-de-lis and plain cross do not
help us greatly; the former might represent either
Florence or France; the latter either the Popolo
of Florence or the Swiss soldiery. Charles had
Swiss in his train.7
The medal, whatever its explanation, does not
seem to be the work of a Florentine artist; we
should rather look for its origin in the North, in
the direction of Bologna, or perhaps, with more
probability,the Veneto. In date it is rather after
than before I5oo00. The portraitis a vigorous piece
of work ; a casting-faulthas left a large hole in the
back of Bernardo'shead, but fortunatelydoes not
seriously spoil the general effect. The reverse
might be more interesting for its historical sig-
nificance-which, unfortunately, still remains
obscure-than it is as an artistic composition.
4. ANGELA BRENZONI, BY POMEDELLI.
Six years ago Signor Domenico Montini, in
publishing for the first time the medal of Angela
Brenzoni by Gian Maria Pomedelli, of which the
only known specimen is in the Museo Comunale
personal history of the medallist, of whom,
previously, little or nothing was known. In 19o6
the same author collected all the available infor-
mation in a second article, including a list of his
known works, both as medallist, painter and
engraver. We now know that this Veronese artist
was born in 1478 or 1479, and died in 1537 or
soon after.
The articles referred to are so unlikely to meet
the eye of English readers,that it seems desirable
to reproduce the medal of Angela Brenzoni in
these pages, accompanying it with certainremarks
which it suggests [PLATE II, D].9 The first
thought which occurred to me on seeing the
illustration of the medal in Signor Montini's
publication was: This is the fat lady of the
Victoria and Albert Museum I By the fat lady, I
7If the proposedidentificationof the two generals is correct,
then the fleurs-de-lisand the flag with the cross mustbe Floren-
tine, since they are on the side of Piero de' Medici.
'" Una preziosa medagliadel Museo Comunale di Trento"
in Tridexntum, fasc. iv, I9o4. I am under great obligations to
Signor Vittorio Salvaro for having procured me a copy of this
article, which seems to be otherwise inaccessible in England,
and also of the same author's importantarticle on " Giovanni
Maria Pomedelli" in the Bollettino di Numismalica, n. 7-10
(xigo6).
9 Dr. Ludovico Oberziner,Directorof the Museumat Trent,
was kind enough to have the medal photographedfor me. This
photographis slightly smaller than the original. The photo-
graph of the bust in the Victoria and Albert Museum,which
is reproducedfor comparison,I owe to Mr. Maclagan.
 Notes on Italian Medals
need not say I mean the delightfully ugly but
dignified terra-cotta bust [PLATE II, E] which
bears a false inscription associating it with the
Lupari family and with the obviously impossible
date 1460. The medal bears an engraved date " 1524
fettenber27'",which may not, perhaps, have been
placed on it at the time the medal was made,10
but corresponds well enough with the probable
date when the medal must have been made.
And 1520-1530 is a very suitable date for the
terra-cotta bust. Now the resemblancesbetween
the bust and the portrait will be clear enough
to everyone; lest, however, it should be thought
that I am unable to perceive the discrepancies,
I proceed to enumerate them. The propor-
tions of the faces are different; the measurement
from the nostril to the chin is proportionately
much greater in the medallic portrait than
in the bust. Angela has little or no neck, as
compared with the neck of the bust. Her
forehead is straighter; the lady of the bust has a
rounder head. On the other hand, it is worthy of
notice that two discrepancies are only apparent.
In both heads the measurements from tip of chin
to nape of neck, and from tip of chin to the
beginning of the hair on the forehead,are approxi-
mately equal to each other, though they do not
look so. Secondly, the great breadth of the
shoulders of the terra-cotta bust is not seen in the
photograph, whereas in the medal Pomedelli has
brought the bust round to the front, while keeping
the head in profile. Hence the actual resemblance
in general proportions between the two portraits
is disguised.
The question is: are the differences between
the two portraits such as could be due partly to a
difference of age, partly to the idiosyncrasies of
the two artists? The medal shows a woman
perhaps from five to ten years older than the bust.
With increasing years and fulness of proportions
that difference which I have noticed between the
necks of the two portraits might have been con-
10 Dr. Oberzinerthinks it is a later addition. The forms of
the numerals,it must, however,be admitted,are not unsuitable
to the date.
AN UNRECOGNIZED CARPACCIO
BY CLAUDE PHILLIPS
HIS panel was in the collection of the
late Sir William Neville Abdy, and
with other pictures owned by him was
in I88i exhibited at the winter exhi-
bition of the Royal Academy. As all
the world knows, it was recently a centre of
attraction in the sale rooms of Messrs. Christie,
where it was displayedwith the rest of the deceased
collector'svery remarkableseriesof Italianpictures.
On the strength of a cartellino at the bottom of
'44
siderably diminished, although one trembles to
think of any addition to the already rather over-
whelming scale of the original of the terra-cotta.
I am not by any means sure of the proposed
identification, but have thought the suggestion
worth proposing.
The reverse of the medal-an excellent com-
position in its way-conveys some sort of allegory
connected with Angela Brenzoni. Of her, I may
add, nothing seems to be known except that she
was a lady " d'illustreed onorata memoria, di alto
ingegno e segnalatavirtl "and wife of the Venetian
senator, Luca Busnato. But this reverse is also
found attached to quite another portrait-that of
a nameless young man [PLATE II, F].1' The dog
holding a bone in his paws-canis os ferens-
suggested to Cicognarathat the man was Ludovico
Canossa,bishop of Bayeux. Friedlknderhasalready
pointed out the untenableness of this view on
various grounds. We may now add that this
reverse design does not belong to the medal
of the nameless man at all. A glance at the
illustration in PLATE II shows that the obverse
and reverse of the Brenzoni medal were
made for each other. On the other hand, the
bust of the nameless man was obviously meant
to have a larger reverse ; the diameter of
the piece has been reduced in order to fit it to
the alien reverse. Whether it represents a larger
piece, which once existed with legend and border
(for which there is now no room) complete, or
whether it is cast from a model to which these
accessories were never added, it is difficult to say.
There is no doubt that the medal, in the form in
which we know it, is a hybrid, and that the last
shred of evidence in favour of its representing
Ludovico Canossadisappears. It is even possible
to question whether the portrait is the work of
Pomedelli; but though it is larger in conception
and bolder in execution than any of his signed
portraits,there is no obvious reason for disputing
his claim.
11Alreadyfigured in Friedliinder'sItal. Schaumranzen,
p. 1o3,
from the unique specimen at Vienna. Friedliinder's engraving
does not reproducethe incised date on the reverse.
the panel, on the extreme right hand, bearing the
inscription "Andreas Mantinea", it had been
catalogued as the work of the great Paduan
master,and as such exhibited at Burlington House.
It is a curious fact that the painting by Carpaccio,
in the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum,with which I am
about to compare the panel now under discussion,
bears, on the monumental table which supportsthe
dead body of Christ, the same signature "Andreas
Mantinea F ". In both cases the signature is old,