- Museum number
- G3,IP.1139
- Description
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Cast lead medal. (whole)
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Bust of Balthazar de Villars, right, wearing a ruff, a doublet and an embroidered coat. (obverse)
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The arms of the Villars family (Azure, three stars or, on a chief gules a lion passant or), surmounted by a helm bearing a naked man holding a club as a crest. (reverse)
- Production date
- 1600 (cast)
- Dimensions
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Thickness: 1.90 - 40 millimetres
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Diameter: 48.000 millimetres
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Weight: 40.43 grammes
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
- Jones 2
The British Museum example is a rather poor cast. The reverse was not known to Mazerolle (see 3).
Balthazar de Villars (1557-1627), Seigneur de Laval and du Roquet, succeeded his father-in-law Nicolas de Lange (see registration no. 1925,0310.179) as Lieutenant Général of Lyon in 1587. He became Premier Président of the Parlement of Dombes in 1597 and was Provost of the Merchants from 1597-9 and again in 1608 and 1626. He had a medal collection (see 1, 3) which he left to his brother Jérôme de Villars, Archbishop and Count of Vienne (whose medal was done by Dupré in 1601).
Although Dupré makes the crest look like Hercules it is clear from other representations of the arms (see 5) that it was a wild man, apparently with Balthazar's own features.
Other examples:
(a) Cabinet des Médailles, Bibliothèque Nationale, 58 rue de Richelieu, 75084 Paris, France, Sér. Icon. Fr. 182, cast bronze, 44 mm. Uniface (obverse)
(b) Civiche Raccolte Numismatiche, Milan, Brera, bronze, 45 mm. Poor cast.
(c) Sammlung von Medaillen, Münzen und Geldzeichen, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
(d) Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7, A352-1910 (Salting Bequest), bronze, 46 mm. Aftercast.
(e) Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, bronze. Good aftercast, with reverse, from the Douce Collection.
Bibliography:
1. F. Chérubin de Marcigny, Oraison funèbre de B. de Villars, Lyon 1627.
2. T.N. Méd. Fr. II pl. 18 no. 3 (obverse).
3. Ed. Bonnaffé, Amateurs français, p.323.
4. Mazerolle II, no. 630 (obverse).
5. W. Poidebrand, J. Baudrier and L. Galle, Armorial des Bibliophiles de Lyonnais, Lyon 1907, pp. 690-693.
6. J. Tricou, Médailles Lyonnaises, p. 23 no. 39. Mentions an example, with this reverse, which had been in the Récamier collection.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1825
- Department
- Coins and Medals
- Registration number
- G3,IP.1139
- C&M catalogue number
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MF2 (Jones 2) (53) (8)
