The image shows a relief sculpture of a woman in profile. She is depicted wearing detailed necklaces and headwear, suggesting nobility. The sculpture is set in a circular medallion made of dark metal. There is inscription along the outer edge of the medallion and a small hole at the top.
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The image shows a relief sculpture of a woman in profile. She is depicted wearing detailed necklaces and headwear, suggesting nobility. The sculpture is set in a circular medallion made of dark metal. There is inscription along the outer edge of the medallion and a small hole at the top.

National Gallery of Art · Sculpture

Antonia del Balzo, 1441-1538, Wife of Gianfrancesco Gonzaga di Rodigo 1479 [obverse]

Antico

Date
c. 1487
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
overall (diameter): 4.07 cm (1 5/8 in.) gross weight: 30.63 gr (0.068 lb.) axis: 6:00
Classification
Sculpture · Medal/Medallion
Accession number
1942.9.153.a
Credit line
Widener Collection
Time span
1401 to 1500
Department
CSD

Subjects and terms

  • Renaissance
  • Medals
  • bust facing right
  • portrait
  • Mantuan
  • Balzo, Antonia del
Provenance

Oscar Hainauer [d. 1894], Berlin; by inheritance to his widow, Mrs. Julie Hainauer, Berlin; purchased 1906 by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris); by exchange 21 October 1920 to Joseph E. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Philadelphia;[1] gift 1942 to NGA. [1] A typed manuscript, “List of medals from the Hainauer Collection sold to Joseph Widener, Esq.” dated “October Twenty-First 1920,” is kept inside the front cover of the NGA Library’s copy of _A Cabinet of One Hundred & Thirty-Three Bronze Plaques and Medals of the Renaissance Period from the Collection of the Late Herr Oscar Hainauer of Berlin_, ed. Duveen Brothers, London, n.d. (but 1908), which came to the Gallery from the Widener library. Elsewhere in the Widener records, the circumstances of the acquisition are recorded by Edith Standen, the Widener’s curator: “Plaques and medals. These, formerly in the Hainauer Collection, were presented to Mr. [Joseph] Widener by Lord Duveen (then Sir Joseph) as a peace-offering. Mr. Widener had broken off relations with the firm two years before over a disputed enamel he had purchased from them and the medals, though originally offered at a much higher price, were given in lieu of the purchase money of the enamel.” (Gallery Archives, Record Group 3, Records of the Office of the Deputy or Assistant Director, Donor Files Relating to Major Collections, Box 21.)

Inscription

around circumference: DIVA ANTONIA BAVTIA DE GONZ[aga] MAR[chionissa]

NGA object ID 1294. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.