Read the visual description
The sculpture is a bas-relief depicting a profile of a man. The man is wearing a cap and has shoulder-length hair that is styled into waves. He is dressed in a robe with horizontal lines suggesting texture or pleats. The sculpture is primarily made from a gray material, likely stone or metal, giving it a weathered look. The bas-relief is rectangular in shape and features inscriptions around the sides and top, with a small hole visible at the top edge.
National Gallery of Art · Sculpture
Arcarino Foresto d'Este, Legendary Ancestor of the Estensi
Ferrarese 15th Century
- Date
- fourth quarter 15th century
- Medium
- lead
- Dimensions
- overall (height measured at center): 8.38 x 6.67 cm (3 5/16 x 2 5/8 in.) gross weight: 280.43 gr (0.618 lb.)
- Classification
- Sculpture · Medal/Medallion
- Accession number
- 1957.14.631
- Credit line
- Samuel H. Kress Collection
- Time span
- 1401 to 1500
- Department
- CSD
Subjects and terms
- Renaissance
- Medals
- bust facing right
- portrait
- Ferrarese
- Ancestor of the Estensi
- Este, Acarino d'
Provenance
Gustave Dreyfus [1837-1914], Paris; his heirs; purchased with the entire Dreyfus collection 9 July 1930 by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris); sold 31 January 1944 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[1] gift 1957 to NGA. [1] The Duveen Brothers Records document the firm’s sixteen year pursuit and eventual acquisition of the Dreyfus collection, which included paintings, sculptures, small bronzes, medals, and plaquettes. Bequeathed as part of his estate to Dreyfus’ widow and five children (a son and four daughters), who had differing opinions about its disposition, the collection was not sold until after his widow’s death in April 1929. Duveen did not wish to separate Dreyfus’ collection of small bronzes, medals, and plaquettes, and it was sold intact to the Kress Foundation for a price that was met by installment payments every three months. (Duveen Brothers Records, accession number 960015, Research Library, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles: reel 301, box 446, folders 3 and 4; reel 302, box 447, folders 1-6; reel 303, box 448, folders 1 and 2; reel 330, box 475, folder 4.) See also George Francis Hill’s discussion "A Note on Pedigrees" in his catalogue, _The Gustave Dreyfus Collection: Renaissance Medals_, Oxford, 1931: xii, which was commissioned by Duveen Brothers.
Inscription
vertical along left edge: D[omi]N[u]S ACHARIVS ATEST[inus]; vertical along right edge: FERRARIOLAE P[rinceps] I[primus]
NGA object ID 44385. 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.