Read the visual description
The sculpture is a round, coin-like medal featuring a side profile of a man with shoulder-length wavy hair and wearing a beret. The figure's facial features are rendered in relief, giving a three-dimensional appearance. The subject's attire includes draped clothing with visible folds. The sculpture is made of a dark metallic material with signs of oxidation and a greenish patina. The color scheme is predominantly dark with highlights of bronze or copper tones accentuating the sculpted details. Around the edge, there is an inscription in raised letters. The sculpture is small and detailed, similar to what one might find on a historic coin or medallion, making it an intimate and precise work meant to be viewed up close.
National Gallery of Art · Sculpture
Achille Tiberti of Cesena, died 1501
Style of Niccolò Fiorentino
- Date
- c. 1495
- Medium
- bronze
- Dimensions
- overall (diameter): 7.24 cm (2 7/8 in.) gross weight: 137.83 gr (0.304 lb.)
- Classification
- Sculpture · Medal/Medallion
- Accession number
- 1957.14.881
- Credit line
- Samuel H. Kress Collection
- Time span
- 1401 to 1500
- Department
- CSD
Subjects and terms
- Florentine
- Renaissance
- Medals
- bust facing left
- portrait
- Tiberti, Achille
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
around circumference: ACHILLES TIBERTVS CESENAS ARM[iger]
NGA object ID 44848. 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.