Read the visual description
The sculpture features a circular medal with a detailed scene of battle. The scene includes soldiers on horseback and infantry engaging in combat. The medal is golden-hued, giving it a metallic appearance. Details include figures in action on horses and foot, some appearing minimally clothed. In the background, faint structures hint at a battlefield setting. Inscribed text along the edge adds to its historical or commemorative significance.
National Gallery of Art · Sculpture
Battle under City Walls [reverse]
Attributed to Annibale Fontana
- Date
- c. 1550
- Medium
- bronze
- Dimensions
- overall (diameter): 5.74 cm (2 1/4 in.) gross weight: 44.88 gr (0.099 lb.) axis: 11:00
- Classification
- Sculpture · Medal/Medallion
- Accession number
- 1957.14.1038.b
- Credit line
- Samuel H. Kress Collection
- Time span
- 1501 to 1550
- Department
- CSD
Subjects and terms
- Renaissance
- Milanese
- military
- Battle at Cerignola & the Garigliano (1503)
- Defeat of the French
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: VICTIS GALLIS AD CANNAS ET LIRIM PACATA ITALIA IANVM CLAVSIT
NGA object ID 45124. 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.