Original scientific paper
THE ART OF MEDAL IN LITTORIAL CROATIA BETWEEN 15TH C. AND 1818
Ivan Mirnik
; Arheološki muzej u Zagrebu
Abstract
Among the older Istrian medals there is one of Francesco Biondi, a Florentine monk, bishop of Capodistria (Justinopolis, Kopar), made in 1448. Other Istrian medals of interest are a rough cast-bronze one from 1693, made for a corporate body for the distribution of hay in Pula and a small cast bronze medal, made in Rome on the occasion of the renewal of St. Euphemia's church in Rovinj in 1756. Of course, there is also a modest medal presented by the Poreč community to the last Venetian podesta in 1797. Speaking of Dalmatian medals, one ought to mention two of the great names of the Renaissance, who excelled in the art of the medal: Paolo de Ragusa and Francesco Laurana. Several famous Dalmatians who lived abroad in the 16th c. were depicted on medals: Jacobus Banisius, Francesco Niconizio and Antonio Veranzio. One of the earliest Dalmatian medals is the one made in 1600 for the Procuratori dell' Area di S. Simeone in Zadar. There is also a medal struck on the occasion of the liberation of Castelnuovo (Hercegnovi) in 1687. The Scuola Dalmata in Venice also hat its own small silver medals depicting S. George and S. Tripone. The numerous Dalmatian magistrates' medals from the 17th and 18th c. are usually of little artistic value, having been made by local gold or silversmiths, according to the wishes of the local nobility, who wanted to honour a departing provveditore generale or conte (various provveditori generali of Dalmatia and Albania, podesta of Poreč, counts of Korčula, Split, Šibenik and Zadar, provveditori of Imotski, Makarska and Sinj). Speaking about medals of the ancient Republic of Dubrovnik one ought to mention that only trace left there by Paolo de Ragusio are the delicate copper follari. Matteo de' Pasti made a medal of Timoteo Maffei, the archbishop of Ragusa. Three 16th c. Ragusan patricians: Giovanni Nale-Nalješković, Domenico Ragnina and Luca Cerva-Crijević were depicted on medals. A medal by St. Urbain was dedicated to Giorgio Baglivi, a Ragusan surgeon. The first medal was struck in Dubrovnik on the occasion of the reconstruction of St. Blaise's church in 1707. In 1771 the relics of St. Stephen King of Hungary were presented by the Ragusan Senate to Emperor Joseph Il. and Empress Maria Theresia; the event was marked by a medal. The other two remarkable medals of Dubrovnik were the one to commemorate the death of the rector Orsat Gozze Gučetić, 1798; Gioacchino Hamerani's 1803 Luigi Alvise Mozzi medal. Napoleon Bonaparte's Marshal Marmont dissolved the government of the reverend and feeble Republic of Ragusa on January 31. 1808. Napoleon's massive numismatic propaganda was very well organized. An entire team of artists worked for Napoleon in Paris, but there were also many medallists elsewhere producing medals, in order to celebrate his victories, thus for instance the 1806 medal commemorating the conquests of Dalmatia, of Istria, and of Illyricum. Several of the Dalmatian Napoleonic medals have not been attributed to any of the known medallists, thus for instance the rare Zaratine Lycaeum medal from 1809. A more rudely made medal was presented by the inhabitants of Sinj to Pierre Bouillerot, a French surgeon, in 1811 . During the first Austrian rule, in 1801 a decoration by I. N. Wirt was distributed, with the bust of Emperor Franc is II. on the obverse and the inscription DALMATAE BEN EMERENTI/ 1801 on the reverse . One of the earliest Austrian medals struck for Dalmatia was the Zara tine medal of 1804 by Luigi Ferrari, which commemorated the Dalmatian nobility paying respect to Emperor Franc is II. (1792- 1806-1 835), represented by Count Peter von Goess, Governor of Dalmatia between 1802 and 1805. One should not forget the most popular of all medals: the saints' medals and tokens, which were struck, cast or engraved in very large quantities and were cheap and therefore accessible to the masses of pilgrims. The most popular were those of Madonna of Trsat, made chiefly after 1715, when the Madonna was solemnly crowned .
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
111022
URI
Publication date:
10.2.1998.
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