Read the visual description
The sculpture is a bronze medallion featuring the portrait of a man in profile, facing to the right. The subject is depicted with a detailed facial expression, curly hair, and a full beard, wearing a garment with a high collar indicative of the period's fashion. The material of the medallion is bronze, giving it a rich brown color with lighter highlights that accentuate the details of the facial features and clothing. The surface has a smooth yet slightly textured finish, making the carved details stand out distinctly. Surrounding the portrait is an inscription that reads “ANTONIVS·MOR·TRAPICIOR.” The medallion is round with a small hole at the edge. The overall size and detailed craftsmanship make the medallion appear like a small, intricate piece of art.
National Gallery of Art · Sculpture
Antonis Mor, c. 1517/1521-1576/1577, Painter
Steven van Herwijck
- Medium
- bronze
- Dimensions
- overall (diameter): 6.37 cm (2 1/2 in.) gross weight: 46.05 gr (0.102 lb.)
- Classification
- Sculpture · Medal/Medallion
- Accession number
- 1957.14.1233
- Credit line
- Samuel H. Kress Collection
- Time span
- 1501 to 1550
- Department
- CSD
Subjects and terms
- Netherlandish
- Renaissance
- Medals
- bust facing right
- portrait
- Mor, Antonis
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: ANTONIVS MOR TRA[iectensis] PICTOR
NGA object ID 45438. 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.