Read the visual description
The sculpture is a medallion featuring the profile of a woman with intricate hair styling. The woman is adorned in ornate clothing, with visible detailing on her dress, including a choker necklace and a bow-like decoration on her chest. Surrounding her image is an inscription in raised letters that reads "ALBERTINE NÉE BARONNE DE NIVENHEIM." The sculpture is made of a metallic material with a bronzed coloration. It is circular in shape with a loop at the top. The detailing of the woman's attire and hair suggests a level of craftsmanship that gives the sculpture a three-dimensional aspect.
National Gallery of Art · Sculpture
Albertine de Nivenheim
Giovanni Battista Nini
- Date
- 1768
- Medium
- bronze//With ring
- Dimensions
- overall (height with suspension loop): 14.8 cm (5 13/16 in.) overall (diameter without loop): 14.93 cm (5 7/8 in.)
- Classification
- Sculpture · Medal/Medallion
- Accession number
- 1957.14.1177
- Credit line
- Samuel H. Kress Collection
- Time span
- 1751 to 1775
- Department
- CSD
Subjects and terms
- French
- Rococo
- Medals
- bust facing right
- portrait
- Nivenheim, Albertine de
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: ALBERTINE NEE BARONNE DE NIVENHEIM 1768
NGA object ID 45346. 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.