ITALY. Paduan Medals. Lorenzino de' Medici, 1514-1548. Attributed to Giovanni da Cavino, a later aftercast. Medal (Bronze, 36 mm, 27.45 g, 6 h), circa 1537. LAVRENTIVS - MEDICES Draped bust of Lorenzino de' Medici to right.
Rev. VIII•ID•IAN Cap of Liberty between two daggers. Attwood 891. Pollard 570. Pierced
, otherwise, very fine.
From the collection of Cardinal Flavio Chigi (1631-1693), Sotheby’s, 7 May 1975, 35 (with an old collector's ticket written in French).
This medal, originally created by the renowned 16th-century medallist Giovanni da Cavino around 1537, portrays Lorenzino de’ Medici, infamous for assassinating his cousin, Duke Alessandro de’ Medici, in 1537 - a deed he claimed was in defense of Florentine liberty. The reverse features two daggers and a Phrygian cap (a classical symbol of liberty), closely echoing the design of the celebrated EID MAR denarius issued by Brutus, one of Julius Caesar’s assassins. While this particular piece is a later cast of Cavino’s original, its iconography remains powerfully evocative, drawing a clear parallel between Brutus and Lorenzino as tyrannicides acting in the name of republican freedom.
What makes this example especially significant is its provenance: it once belonged to the distinguished collection of Cardinal Flavio Chigi (1631-1693). Chigi was the nephew of Pope Alexander VII and one of the most influential churchmen and collectors of the 17th century. Created cardinal in 1657, he served as Papal Secretary of State and was appointed Cardinal-Nephew, a powerful role at the heart of papal politics. A great patron of the arts and scholarship, Chigi amassed one of the most important private collections of coins, medals, books, and antiquities of his time. His villa and palace in Ariccia, transformed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini into a baroque masterpiece, became a cultural hub for artists, writers, and intellectuals.
The presence of this medal in his collection reflects both his political awareness and refined antiquarian taste, especially given the controversial subject of republican liberty in contrast to absolute rule. Today, pieces with such rich historical associations - both in subject and ownership - are prized not only as numismatic artifacts but also as windows into the ideological currents and collecting culture of the Baroque elite.
