Anne of Brittany, 1477-1514, Wife of Louis XII 1498 [reverse]

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.)

around circumference: LVGDVN[ensi] REPVBLICA GAVDE[n]ETE BIS ANNAREGNA[n]TE BENIGNE SIC FVI CONFLATA 1499