Medallion — Medallion of Giovanni Pietro di Avenza, Italy, Florence, ca. 1500, ca. 1890
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca. 1500, ca. 1890
Medallion in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number REPRO.1890-27), made in Italy, Florence, dated ca. 1500, ca. 1890, attributed to Lelli, Oronzio, Lelli, Oronzio.
The museum's brief description reads: Plaster cast, medallion of Giovanni Pietro Di Avenza, after marble original in Lucca, Italy, cast by Ornzio lelli, ca. 1890. Museum description: Plaster cast of a marble portrait bust of Giovanni Pietro di Avenza. The sitter is shown in profile, looking to the right. An inscription runs around the edges and to the center of the medallion, either part of the profile. The museum records it as Plaster cast, measuring Diameter 46 cm.
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 cast of the medallion of Giovanni Pietro di Avenza was taken from a marble original situated in the cathedral of Lucca, Italy. Portrait of Giovanni Pietro Vitelli, a humanist born in Avenza, who taught at the universities of Brescia, in Venice and in Lucca, where he died in 1457. Inscribed: IOANNES PETRUS·LVCEN·DOCTVS GRAECE ET·LATINE·INGENIO MITI+PROBO·Q. (Giovanni Pietro of Lucca learned in Greek and Latin, with a gentle and virtuous nature). The medallion was attributed to Matteo Civitali (1436-1501) by Ridolfi (1882). This attribution was refuted in 1977 by Ulrich Middeldorf, who showed that the medallion derived from a bronze medal by Pisanello in a private collection. when Lelli made his copy, this medallion was unknown. The roundel conforms to the medal both in the sitter's features and the text of the inscription. If the attribution of the bronze medal is correct, it can be dated to before 1450, the year of Pisanello's death. The marble roundel seems, however, to be of a later date than the medal as the costume in the former is dateable to circa 1500.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- plaster
- Dimensions
- Diameter 46 cm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Plaster cast
- Maker recorded
- Lelli, Oronzio, Lelli, Oronzio
- Place recorded
- Italy, Florence
Design
- Inscriptions recorded
- Inscribed: IOANNES PETRUS·LVCEN·DOCTVS GRAECE ET·LATINE·INGENIO MITI+PROBO·Q
Identification
- Museum object name
- Medallion
- Museum object number
- REPRO.1890-27
- Museum system number
- O12527
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.