Medal — Elisabetta Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino, Florence, end of 15th century
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
end of 15th century
Medal in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number A.204-1910), made in Florence, dated end of 15th century, attributed to Fiorentino, Adriano. The museum's brief description reads: Medal, bronze, depicting Elizsbetta Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino (1471-1526), by Adriano Fiorentino, Italy (Florence), end of the 15th century.
Museum description: Medal of bronze, depicting Elizabetta Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino (1471-1526), wife of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (married 1489). Obverse; bust to right of Elizabetta, wearing a necklace. Small cap at back of the head, hair in long tightly bound queue. Inscription. Reverse; a female figure, naked to the waist, lying on the ground with her head resting against a gate of fence to the left. She holds a bridle/ girdle in both hands, and above is a mass of flame with streamers and detached flames pointing towards her.
Inscription. The museum records it as Cast bronze, measuring Diameter 83 mm. These details come from the museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- 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
This medal depicts Elizabetta Gonzaga, wife of Guidobaldo del Montefeltro and Duchess of Urbino (1471-1526), and is made by Adriano Fiorentino at the end of the 15th century. Born into the Gonzaga ruling house of Mantua, Elisabetta was the wife of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (m. 1489), who succeeded his father Federico da Montefeltro as Duke of Urbino in 1482. Elisabetta’s relations included Isabella d’Este, the wife of Francesco Gonzaga and a leading female cultural figure of the Italian Renaissance. With no children of their own, Guidobaldo’s heir was his nephew Francesco Maria della Rovere, whom he adopted in 1508 (the year of his death). In a letter to her brother Marchese Francesco (dated May 1495), Elisabetta recommended Adriano Fiorentino as a ‘good sculptor’ who had ‘made some very beautiful medals’ during a three-month stay at Urbino. In addition to Elisabetta’s medal, Adriano produced a medal for her sister-in law, Emilia Pia (V&A 666-1865). Each medal features a pearled border inscribing a profile view of a long-necked woman with a rigid braid falling down her back. The reverse image was originally interpreted as presenting an image of ill fortune, possibly referring to the hardships that befell the duchy after it was temporarily seized by Cesare Borgia in 1502 (three years after Adriano’s death). It has since been agreed that the image conveys the Greek myth of Danae, who appears reclining against a window and constrained by a girdle. Danae’s father, Acrisius,…
Physical characteristics
- Material
- bronze
- Dimensions
- Diameter 83 mm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Cast bronze
- Maker recorded
- Fiorentino, Adriano
- Place recorded
- Florence
Design
- Inscriptions recorded
- 'ELIZABET. GONZAGA. FELTRIA. DVCISS. VRBINI.'; 'HOC FVGIENTI FORTVNAE DICATIS'.
Identification
- Museum object name
- Medal
- Museum object number
- A.204-1910
- Museum system number
- O93597
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 catalogue references against a specialist reference.