Marie de' Medici Work of Guillaume Dupré, 1624. Bronze, 106.0 mm Ø, 101.8 g (Uniface) Obverse: Bust of Marie de' Medici facing right, wearing a widow's cap, a string of pearls, and a dress with open standing collar at the front of which hangs a cross. Around, in retrograde, MARIA AVGVSTA GALLIÆ ET NAVARÆ REGINA (Maria Augusta, Queen of France and Navarre). Beneath the truncation, G DVPRE F 1624 . Marie de' Medici was born on April 26, 1575, in Florence to Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. In October of 1600, she married Henri IV of France, and was crowned Queen of France on May 13, 1610, one day before her husband's assassination. Although her son, Louis XIII, come of age on his thirteenth birthday in 1614, thus ending the regency of Marie, she still remained the de facto ruler of France until Louis exiled her in 1617. In 1621, with assistance her confidant and adviser, Cardinal Richelieu, Marie and Louis reconciled. Richelieu himself was appointed to the royal council of ministers on April 29, 1624. Jones has suggested that the inscription, which is legible only in a mirror, is intended to suggest that Marie's titles are merely reflections of the glory of her son. Several medals of Marie were produced by Dupré during her widowhood, and the pearl necklace she is shown wearing was a wedding present from Henri IV. References: Johnson 1990, no. 137; Jones 1988, no. 59; Pollard 2007, no. 649
Great piece indeed! What I find a little strange, apart from the mirrored text, is that the collar sort of hides the word "regina". Even though there would have been space on the right side ... Christian
Spectacular! I suppose google could tell me this, but why was she crowned the Queen in 1610 v. earlier? And, was it suspicious in any way that the King happened to die the next day?
Robust and beautiful women most indeed, but what is it that resides above her head? Is that a hole in the rim?
That's a good question about the coronation that I don't know the answer to, and some basic googling failed to enlighten me. The assassination the next day occurred while the king was stuck in congestion due to the previous day's coronation, but I don't ever remember reading that there was anything suspicious about it. That is indeed a hole (holes are quite common on medals for display, wearing, etc.).
What a fantastic medal and great photo! The retrograde legend, and the theory about why it was done that way, is interesting too.
Some of these medals are stunning, including this one. I have always wondered why there are not more collectors of medals of the medieval and middle ages. Could it be because there were so many struck or cast, and there aren't any price guides? Or that the molds are still around and it is easy to make more of them? I really do not understand it because some of these appear to be fantastic!
