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Germany and Austria

Medal making became popular in Germany in the early sixteenth century (and, in the expansive Hapsburg Empire, a number of significant medals were produced in Austria). German medals tend toward exacting portraiture, with reverses usually carrying heraldic imagery. They were often made by striking — the shaping of a blank metal disk between two carved dies — a method that had been used since antiquity to form coins. Innovations such as the development of the screw press allowed medalists to strike medals more easily, at larger sizes, and with greater control. The resulting relief and remarkable detail are epitomized in the work of the seventeenth-century artist Sebastian Dadler.

  • Bronze medal of a man wearing a cloak with a wide collar, and a laurel wreath on his head

    Nuremberg School (Stabius Group)
    Johannes Stabius (1462–1522), ca. 1517
    Copper alloy, cast
    Diam.: 2 7/8 in. (7.23 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 41

  • Bronze portrait medal of Martin Tucher wearing a hat in profile to the right

    Hans Schwarz (ca. 1492/93–after 1527)
    Martin Tucher (1460–1528), 1519
    Copper alloy, cast
    Diam.: 2 3/16 in. (5.63 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 42

  • Bronze medal of a king wearing a disc-shaped hat, a cloak with a fur collar, and the order of the Golden Fleece around his neck

    Hans Daucher (ca. 1485–1538)
    Ludwig II, King of Hungary and Bohemia (b. 1506; r. 1516–26), and Count Stephan Schlick (1487–1526), dated 1526
    Copper alloy, cast
    Diam.: 2 3/8 in. (6.04 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 43

  • Stone model for a portrait medal of Friedrich Behaim wearing a hat over a bald head, bearded, in profile to the left

    Unknown Nuremberg artist
    Friedrich VII Behaim (1491–1533), dated (on reverse) 1526
    Limestone
    Diam.: 1 9/16 in. (4 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 44

  • Wood medal in a wood frame of a woman with crossed arms wearing a widow dress

    Unknown German artist
    Margaret of Hapsburg, called Margaret of Austria (b. 1480; Governor of the Low Countries 1507–15 and 1517–30), 16th century
    Boxwood (relief) and rosewood (frame)
    Diam.: 2 7/16 in. (6.26 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 45

  • Bronze medal of a man in profile to the right wearing a pleated shirt with ornamented collar

    Matthes Gebel (ca. 1500–1574)
    Christoph Kress von Kressenstein (1484–1535), dated 1526; ca. 1530
    Copper alloy, cast
    Diam.: 1 9/16 in. (3.94 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 46

  • Copper medal of a man in profile wearing a high-necked shirt and doublet

    Matthes Gebel (ca. 1500–1574)
    Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), not before 1528
    Copper alloy, cast
    Diam.: 1 9/16 in. (3.90 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 47

  • Copper medal of a man in profile wearing a high-necked shirt and doublet

    Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)
    Adam and Eve, 1504
    Engraving
    9 7/8 × 7 11/16 in. (25.1 × 19.5 cm)
    The Frick Collection; Henry Clay Frick Bequest

    Cat. 48

  • Wooden model for a portrait medal of Matthaeus Schwarz wearing a hat in profile to the right

    Friedrich Hagenauer (act. 1520–after 1546)
    Matthaeus Schwarz (1497–ca. 1574), 1530
    Boxwood
    Scher Collection
    Diam. obverse: 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm)
    Diam. reverse: 1 3/4 in. (4.37 cm)

    Cat. 49

  • Silver portrait medal of Johan Friedrich of Saxony wearing a fur robe, holding a sword in his right hand and a shield in his left hand, with a chain around his neck, looking to the right

    Hans Reinhart the Elder (1500/10–1581)
    Johann Friedrich I (1503–1554; Elector of Saxony 1532–47), dated 1535
    Silver, cast
    Diam.: 2 9/16 in. (6.58 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 50

  • Gilt-silver medal depicting Adam and Eve under the Tree of Knowledge and surrounded by animals

    Hans Reinhart the Elder (1500/10–1581)
    Adam and Eve and the Crucifixion, dated 1536
    Gilt silver, cast
    Diam.: 2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm)
    Scher Collection; Promised gift to The Frick Collection

    Cat. 51

  • Silver medal of God the Father enthroned, crowned and wearing an embroidered cope

    Hans Reinhart the Elder (1500/10–1581)
    Trinity Medal, dated 1544
    Silver, cast
    Diam.: 4 1/16 in. (10.28 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 52

  • Silver medal of a man wearing a broad hat, pleated shirt, wide-collared cloak, and the badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece

    Wolf Milicz (act. 1533–46)
    Ferdinand I (1503–1564) and Anne of Bohemia (1503–1547), dated 1537
    Silver, struck
    Diam.: 1 13/16 in. (4.68 cm)
    Scher Collection; Promised gift to The Frick Collection

    Cat. 53

  • Silver medal of a woman wearing a widow’s bonnet and cap

    Unknown German artist
    Elisabeth, Duchess of Braunschweig-Calenberg (1510–1558), dated 1544
    Gilt silver alloy, cast
    Diam.: 1 5/8 in. (4.13 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 54

  • Silver portrait medal of Ottheinrich, Count of the Rhenish Palatinate, a large, heavy-set, man with a full beard, looking to the left and wearing a flat hat

    Master of the Ottheinrich of the Palatinate Group
    Ottheinrich, Count of the Rhenish Palatinate (b. 1502; Duke of Lower and Upper Bavaria 1502–59; Prince Elector of the Palatinate 1556–59), dated 1558
    Gilt silver
    Diam.: 1 3/4 in. (4.45 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 55

  • Silver medal of a man holding an hourglass surmounted by skull and a woman holding a book with her left hand

    Joachim Deschler (ca. 1500–1571)
    Georg (1508/9–1574) and Anna Prandstetter (d. 1568), dated 1563
    Silver, cast
    Diam.: 1 7/8 in. (4.76 cm)
    Scher Collection; Promised gift to The Frick Collection

    Cat. 56

  • Silver medal of a man in profile to the left wearing a complex headdress

    Severin Brachmann (act. 1565–90 in Austria and Bohemia)
    Adam Myslík von Hyršov (1520–1581) and Prudentia Myslík (b. 1525), dated 1573
    Silver, cast
    Diam.: 1 5/16 in. (3.35 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 57

  • Silver medal of a balding man with mustache and beard, facing three quarters to the right and wearing ruff and cross

    Attributed to Balduin Drentwett (1545–1627)
    Michael Leonhard Maier (b. 1520), dated 1580
    Silver, cast
    Diam.: 1 5/8 in. (4.16 cm)
    Scher Collection; Promised gift to The Frick Collection

    Cat. 58

  • Silver medal of a man with long hair pulled back in braid, wearing a wide hat with badge

    Unknown Nuremberg artist
    Magdalena Welzer Roemerin (1505–1582), dated 1582
    Silver, cast
    Diam.: 1 9/16 in. (3.97 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 59

  • Silver medal in a partially gilt case with chain depicting the coat of arms of the family Rieter von Kornburg

    Unknown German artist
    Member of the Rieter von Kornburg Family (patrician of Nuremberg, likely died in 1637), not before 1631 (medal and locket); not before 1637 (mounting)
    Gilt silver, cast (medal); silver, partially gilt (mounting and suspension chains, probably the original ones)
    Silver in frame: 1 9/16 × 1 5/16 in. (3.96 × 3.36 cm)
    Framed: 2 × 1 15/16 in. (5.08 × 4.97 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 60

  • Silver medal of a man and woman joining hands and receiving laurel wreaths from angels above

    Johann Blum (ca. 1599–after 1668; act. in Bremen)
    William II of Orange-Nassau (b. 1626; Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands 1647–50) and Mary Henrietta Stuart, Princess Royal (1631–1660), 1641
    Silver, struck
    Diam.: 2 7/8 in. (7.28 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 61

  • Silver medal of a man sitting upon a throne wearing classical armor and holding a sword in his right hand

    Sebastian Dadler (1586–1657)
    Frederick Henry in Triumph and Arrival of Princess Mary in the Netherlands, dated 1648
    Gilt silver, struck
    Diam.: 2 7/8 in. (7.35 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 62

  • Sebastian Dadler (1586–1657)
    Ladislaus IV Vasa, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (b. 1595; r. 1632–48), and Ludovica Maria Gonzaga-Nevers, Queen of Poland (b. 1611; r. 1645–67), 1645–48
    Silver, struck
    Diam.: 1 15/16 in. (4.98 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 63

  • Silver medal depicting a man on a rearing steed in front of troops and a walled cityscape

    Sebastian Dadler (1586–1657)
    Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1608; r. 1637–57), dated 1649
    Silver, struck
    Diam.: 3 1/16 in. (7.76 cm)
    The Frick Collection; Gift of Stephen K. and Janie Woo Scher, 2016

    Cat. 64

  • Silver medal of a man wearing armor and holding a baton

    Martin Heinrich Omeis (or Ohmeiss, 1651–1703; act. in Dresden)
    John George II of Wettin (b. 1613; Elector of Saxony 1656–80), 1677
    Silver, struck
    2 3/16 × 1 7/8 in. (5.53 × 4.82 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 65

  • Silver medal of a man wearing a wide hat with a plume and holding glasses in his right hand and covering his face with his left hand

    Johann Christoph Reteke (act. 1664–1720)
    Hamburg Satirical Medal, 17th century
    Silver, struck
    1 3/4 × 1 9/16 in. (4.39 × 4.02 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 66

  • Silver medal depicting a female figure standing with a sail on a wheel in the sea

    Heinrich Bonhorst (act. 1669; d. 1711)
    Fortuna and Silver Mines, ca. 1698
    Silver, cast
    Diam.: 2 5/8 in. (6.6 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 67

  • Silver medal of a man in profile to the right wearing a wig

    Franz Andreas Schega (1711–1787)
    Maximilian III Joseph (1727–1777) and Marie Anne Sophia of Saxony (1728–1797), ca. 1747
    Silver, struck
    Diam.: 2 7/16 in. (6.19 cm)
    Scher Collection; Promised gift to The Frick Collection

    Cat. 68

  • Bronze medal of a woman in profile to the right with hair styled high and draped

    Bernhard Perger (act. ca. 1769–98)
    Livia Doria Carafa (1745–1779), dated 1779
    Copper alloy, struck
    Diam.: 2 7/8 in. (7.38 cm)
    The Frick Collection; Gift of Stephen K. and Janie Woo Scher, 2016

    Cat. 69

  • Silver portrait medal of Marie Antoinette wearing a curled wig, with a lovelock over her right shoulder, in a low-cut dress trimmed with ermine

    Anton Franz Widemann (1724–1792) and Peter Kaiserswerth (act. 1765–93)
    Marie Antoinette (1755–1793), dated 1770
    Silver, struck
    Diam.: 1 3/4 in. (4.38 cm)
    Scher Collection

    Cat. 70

  • Bronze medal of a woman in profile to the left

    Conrad Heinrich Küchler (act. 1763–1821)
    Marie-Antoinette (1755–1793), dated 1793
    Copper, struck
    Diam.: 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm)
    The Frick Collection; Gift of Stephen K. and Janie Woo Scher, 2016

    Cat. 71

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