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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ycon, post: 3229564, member: 91771&quot;]This weekend I won one of my top wantlist items from Artemide Aste: an original struck paduan by Giovanni da Cavino. And, I might add, I got it for a song. The coin depicts Tiberius on one side and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctuary_of_the_Three_Gauls" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctuary_of_the_Three_Gauls" rel="nofollow">altar of Lugdunum </a>on the other. It is also (an imitation of) the very rare first bronze portrait of Tiberius. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]842994[/ATTACH] </p><p><font size="2">Tiberius (14-37 AD). Struck Medal, around 1550. Dies by Giovanni da Cavino. O / TI CAESAR AVGVSTI F IMPERATOR V. Bare head facing left with short beard. R / Altar of Lugdunum; below, ROMETAVG. Cease 86. Klawans pg. 27.2. Lawrence 5. Molinet pg. 95, IV. Montigny 4. Keary pg. 119. AE. RR.&nbsp; 36.00 mm. Very rare. Superb bronze patina with golden reflections. XF.</font></p><p><br /></p><p>Cavino was born in 1500 in Padua, the son of the goldsmith Bartolommeo di Giovanni. He trained initially with his father. After his father&#039;s death he trained with the brilliant Paduan bronze sculptor Andrea Briscio called Riccio, who named him as the executor to his will. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]843018[/ATTACH] </p><p><font size="2">Andrea Briosco, called Riccio. The &quot;Rothschild&quot; Lamp. Italian, Padua. c.1510-20. Metropolitan Museum of Art. </font></p><p><br /></p><p>Cavino is most famous for the ~140 imitation ancient coins he created (the dies for about half of which survive in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France). I chose the word <i>imitation</i> carefully, as there is considerable, unresolved, debate over whether they were originally intended to be deceitful. There are early accounts that stress that their manufacture was honorable, but it is also clear that they were being passed off as Roman coins (perhaps by unscrupulous third parties) at an early date. </p><p><br /></p><p>Most paduans seen on the market are cast, and often casts of casts; struck originals are very rare. I also own one of these: a &quot;sestertius&quot; of galba purchased from [USER=78244]@TypeCoin971793[/USER] earlier this year. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]843015[/ATTACH]</p><p><font size="2">Galba. AD 68-69. Cast Æ “Sestertius” (32mm, 20.26 g). Paduan type. Later cast after Giovanni da Cavino, 1500-1570. Obv: IMP. SER. SVLP. GALBA CAES. AVG. TR. POT. Laureate bust of Galba, r., draped.&nbsp; Rev: The emperor on a platform, l., addressing five soldiers with standards. L. and r., in field, S.C. In exurge, ADLOCVT. Klawans Obverse type 3, reverse type 4. VF. </font></p><p><br /></p><p>While I don&#039;t normally collect medals, there is something extraordinary to me about these objects, that make them no less than archetypal of the Renaissance. </p><p><br /></p><p>The term the Renaissance, of course, means the rebirth: of classical style, ideals, and philosophy. With the rising interest in Classical artifacts came a rising trade in forged antiquities--often blurring the lines with contemporary classically inspired art. Indeed, one of the key moments early in Michelangelo&#039;s career revolved around this very point. From wikipedia: </p><p><br /></p><blockquote><blockquote><p><font size="3">In 1496, Michelangelo made a sleeping <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid" rel="nofollow">cupid</a> figure and treated it with acidic earth to make it seem ancient. He then sold it to a dealer, Baldassare del Milanese, who in turn sold it to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raffaele_Riario" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raffaele_Riario" rel="nofollow">Cardinal Riario of San Giorgio</a> who later learned of the fraud and demanded his money back. However, Michelangelo was permitted to keep his share of the money.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_(Michelangelo)#cite_note-aaa-2" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_(Michelangelo)#cite_note-aaa-2" rel="nofollow">[2]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_(Michelangelo)#cite_note-3" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_(Michelangelo)#cite_note-3" rel="nofollow">[3]</a> When Michelangelo offered to take the sculpture back from Baldassarre, the latter refused, saying he would rather destroy it.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_(Michelangelo)#cite_note-4" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_(Michelangelo)#cite_note-4" rel="nofollow">[4]</a></font></p></blockquote><font size="3"></font></p><p><font size="3">The <i>Cupid</i> was a significant work in establishing the reputation of the young Michelangelo, who was about 20 years old at the time.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_(Michelangelo)#cite_note-5" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_(Michelangelo)#cite_note-5" rel="nofollow">[5]</a> The sculpture was later donated by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesare_Borgia" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesare_Borgia" rel="nofollow">Cesare Borgia</a> to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_d%27Este" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_d%27Este" rel="nofollow">Isabella d&#039;Este</a>, and was probably collected by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_England" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_England" rel="nofollow">Charles I of England</a> when all the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Gonzaga" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Gonzaga" rel="nofollow">Gonzaga</a> collections were bought and taken to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London" rel="nofollow">London</a> in the seventeenth century.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_(Michelangelo)#cite_note-aaa-2" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_(Michelangelo)#cite_note-aaa-2" rel="nofollow">[2]</a></font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3">In 1698, the <i>Cupid</i> was probably destroyed in the great fire in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Whitehall" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Whitehall" rel="nofollow">Palace of Whitehall</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London" rel="nofollow">London</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_(Michelangelo)#cite_note-aaa-2" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_(Michelangelo)#cite_note-aaa-2" rel="nofollow">[2]</a></font></blockquote><p></p><p>The Paduan medals of Cavino show the desire to imitate antiquity, to better it, and to profit from it. In addition they are exemplars of the typically Renaissance medium of the medal (Cavino is also known to have executed several superb but more conventional medals-- chief among them one showing the <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=952966&amp;partId=1&amp;searchText=M.6825&amp;page=1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=952966&amp;partId=1&amp;searchText=M.6825&amp;page=1" rel="nofollow">return of Mary Tudor to the Church under Julius III</a>). </p><p><br /></p><p>It is often the role of forgeries to teach us more about the era that made them than the era that they are mimicking. This is typified by the Venus of Granvella, a sculpture which in its time was celebrated as one of the finest discoveries of small scale ancient bronze sculpture, but which was in fact a purpose made fake. Its feet and base are made in silver, to replace the supposedly lost originals. The result is thoroughly Renaissance in style and quite lovely. We should understand the interest and value of a Cavino as akin to this, and not to a cheap fake one might find on ebay. </p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>[ATTACH=full]842999[/ATTACH] </p><p><font size="2"> Venus of Cardinal Granvella, c. 1500. Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Kunstkammer.</font></p><p><br /></p><p>Many Paduans were complete inventions, but some, like my coin, were closely based on Roman originals. In searching for the Roman prototype I found this example on wildwind. It took me a second, but I realized the match was a bit TOO good. I&#039;m almost sure that this is in fact Paduan that had been mistaken for a Roman original. (But please correct me if I&#039;m wrong). It is interesting to me that Paduans are still being mistaken for Roman. I&#039;m not sure if this is because the style is so true that they are indistinguishable, or because our view of what is truly Roman is so shaped by the Renaissance that something like this coin becomes more Roman than the Roman original. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]843000[/ATTACH]<font size="2">Tiberius, as Caesar, Æ Sestertius. Lugdunum mint, struck 8-10 AD. TI CAESAR AVGVSTI F IMPERATOR V, bare head of Tiberius left / ROM ET AVG, altar of Lugdunum.</font></p><p><font size="2">RIC 240 [Augustus], Cohen 28, BMC 572. (From Wildwinds) </font></p><p><br /></p><p>Bellow are two original examples of the Roman type. The differences are certainly subtle, but I believe the Renaissance version has delicacy and gracefulness that is not found on the Roman coins. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>[ATTACH=full]843011[/ATTACH] </p><p><font size="2">TIBERIUS. As Caesar, 4-14 AD. Æ Sestertius (25.45 gm, 1h). Lugdunum (Lyons) mint. Struck 8-10 AD. TI CAESAR AVGVSTI F IMPERATOR V, bare head left / ROM ET AVG in exergue, the Great Altar of Lugdunum: altar enclosure; panels decorated with corona civica flanked by figures holding laurel branches; decoration along roofline; altar flanked by columns surmounted by statues of Victory standing vis-à-vis, each holding palm and wreath. RIC I 240 (Augustus); BMCRE 572; Cohen 28. VF, attractive brown and red patina. Very rare first portrait bronze of Tiberius. (from CNG)</font></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]843014[/ATTACH] </p><p><font size="2">Tiberius. As Caesar, AD 4-14. Æ Sestertius (35mm, 24.71 g, 12h). Lugdunum (Lyon) mint. Struck AD 10. Bare head of Tiberius left / The Altar of Lugdunum, decorated with corona civica flanked by figures holding laurel branches; to either side, Victory atop column. RIC I 240; Lyon 99. Fine, rough brown patina. (from CNG)</font></p><p><br /></p><p>I know at least a few of you own Paduans, so please post them! Feel free to post fourrees or other interesting counterfeits as well.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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