This is a
bit later than
medieval, but I figured someone knowledgeable here might have something they could add.
I recently acquired this, apparently unique,
cast medal of Virginia Negri (Bronze, 68 mm Ø) :
Obverse: Bust of Virginia Negri facing right, wearing religious garb;
anepigraphic.
Reverse: Four line incised
inscription, VIRGINEA DE NIGRIS DICTA. A. P. A. ÆTA. AN. XLVII. II. NÕN AP. MDLV. (Virginia Negri, Called Angela Paola
Antonia, Aged 47 Years, 2nd Day of the Nones of April 1555).
Virginia Negri, born c. 1508, was a nun and writer who also
had mystic visions. She took the name Angela Paola
Antonia upon entering a convent in
Milan. Well known throughout the
Veneto for her
work with the ill and the
poor,
contemporary opinion was divided over whether she was saintly or a
fraud. This
medal commemorates her death on April 4, 1555.
In Attwood's "
Italian Medals", he lists uniface medals of the same subject in the British Museum with the
bust facing left and
inscription around the
bust (and those medals are also of different
fabric than this piece). Regarding the BM medals,
Attwood writes "... evidently commissioned by one of her followers, as was another
medal of the same subject [
cf. 1993 Sotheby's sale of this piece] ...", so the assumption seems to be that those medals and this piece are
contemporary to the time (c. 1555).
Information from the sources I have seems
scarce, but I was wondering if anybody here might know something else, either regarding the subject or the
medal itself. Thanks!
