Badge, copper-gilt and champlevé enamel, Italy, 1328-42
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1328-42
Heraldric imagery was used as much by wealthy clergy as by other powerful staesmen, especially on ecclesiastical seals and tombs. Clergymen often combined their personal arms with symbols of their office. This particular heraldic piece indicates the bearer's lineage and ecclesiastical status. The personal arms of Bishop Angelo Acciaioli are shown with emblems of his role as bishop, the mitre and the cross.
As a member of a wealthy and powerful Florentine family, Bishop Acciaioli would have wanted to emphasise his family connnections as well as his position in the church.It is not certain how the badge was used; it might have been attached to a retainer's belt or to a horse harness. Badge, of copper-gilt and champlevé enamel. The lower part, in the shape of a cross, is enamelled in the centre with the arms of Bishop Acciaioli, who was successively Bishop of Aquila from 1328-42, of Florence from 1342-55, and of Monte Cassino from 1355-7. The upper section, bow-shaped, depicts a bishop's mitre.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 2
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
Purchased for £4 16 shillings in 1863 This object depicts the arms of Angelo Acciaioli (d.1357). The Acciaioli family was a very wealthy and powerful Florentine family. Angelo Acciaioli was Bishop of Aquila from 1328 to 1342 and Bishop of Florence from 1342 to 1355. In Florence he led a conspiracy against the tyrant Duca d'Atene.
Acciaioli had close political connections with Naples and was appointed chancellor there in 1348. In 1355 he became Bishop of Monte Cassino. Historical significance: Although heraldry was primarily used in a secular context, it was soon adopted by the clergy and used on ecclesiastical seals, tombs and ornament. This particular heraldic piece promotes the bearer's lineage and ecclesiastical status.
The personal arms of Bishop Angelo Acciaioli are shown with symbols of his episcopal position, the mitre and the cross. As a member of a wealthy and powerful Florentine family, Bishop Acciaioli would have wanted to promote his family connnections as well as his position in the church. This ornament was probably used as a belt tag or badge.
The studs at the back of the object suggest that it was originally fitted to leather or wood.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Copper, gilded; enamel
- Dimensions
- Height: 11.8 cm; Width: 8.1 cm; Depth: 1.1 cm; Weight: 0.08 kg (Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries 2006.)
Technical characteristics
- Place recorded
- Italy
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London collection record for this single object (sentences kept verbatim apart from removed sale or rarity wording); how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Candidate id
- vam-O127124
- Museum object name
- Badge
- Holding institution
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Museum object number
- 8991-1863
- Museum system number
- O127124
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and dating against a specialist reference; this entry documents one recorded example.