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<p>[QUOTE="dougsmit, post: 3055141, member: 19463"]I'm not so sure I would call this defensive as much as stating a fact. In the first place, this is not full face but three quarters which would strike me as even more difficult to execute for a coin lacking thickness to provide metal to fill the dies. This would have required flattening the image more than we had seen in the late Roman period (mostly gold) which were not exactly thick but still twice as thick as this specimen. I wonder if Cellini had second thoughts about his effort or if the concept was ordered from Alessandro de' Medici, he who was to be obeyed without question, and Cellini realized the result was not his best work but was limited by the factors beyond his control. The current specimen almost looks squashed making me wonder if what I see as questionable success might as much be damage as die work. </p><p><br /></p><p>The only thing I see worth showing here as comparison would be the portraits of Henry VIII from a similar angle. This time the unknown cutter flattened the image even more which did not push the envelope as had Cellini. </p><p>[ATTACH=full]765315[/ATTACH] </p><p>It would seem there is a fine line between not trying hard enough and trying too hard when failure would be assured if you crossed the line. There is a reason most coins show profiles. The Baptist coin is made even more magnificent knowing that it's creator was well aware that his work was running up to the limits of the craft.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="dougsmit, post: 3055141, member: 19463"]I'm not so sure I would call this defensive as much as stating a fact. In the first place, this is not full face but three quarters which would strike me as even more difficult to execute for a coin lacking thickness to provide metal to fill the dies. This would have required flattening the image more than we had seen in the late Roman period (mostly gold) which were not exactly thick but still twice as thick as this specimen. I wonder if Cellini had second thoughts about his effort or if the concept was ordered from Alessandro de' Medici, he who was to be obeyed without question, and Cellini realized the result was not his best work but was limited by the factors beyond his control. The current specimen almost looks squashed making me wonder if what I see as questionable success might as much be damage as die work. The only thing I see worth showing here as comparison would be the portraits of Henry VIII from a similar angle. This time the unknown cutter flattened the image even more which did not push the envelope as had Cellini. [ATTACH=full]765315[/ATTACH] It would seem there is a fine line between not trying hard enough and trying too hard when failure would be assured if you crossed the line. There is a reason most coins show profiles. The Baptist coin is made even more magnificent knowing that it's creator was well aware that his work was running up to the limits of the craft.[/QUOTE]
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