102288 | RUSSIA. St. Petersburg. St. Isaac's Metropolitan Church bronze Medal.

102288  |  RUSSIA. St. Petersburg. St. Isaac's Metropolitan Church bronze Medal. Issued 1858. Most Remarkable Edifices of Europe series (59mm, 101.11 g, 12h). By J. Wiener in Brussels and struck at the Geerts mint in Ixelles.

 

СОБОРЪ СВ ИСААКΙЯ ДАΛМАТСКАГО ВЪ С. ПЕТЕРБУРГЪ / ÉGLISE ST ISAAC À ST PETERSBOURG BATIE PAR PIERRE LE GRAND 1717–1727. INCENDIÉE 1735. POSE DE LA 1E PIERRE DE L'ÉGLISE ACTUELLE PAR ALEXANDRE I 1819. CONSACRÉE PAR ALEXANDRE II 1858, three-quarter exterior view of the church building / Interior view looking down the nave from a vantage point just to the right of the center aisle. Edge: Plain.

 

Ross M210 (R3); van Hoydonck 158; Reinecke 57. Choice Mint State. Light red-brown surfaces, with some enchanting brilliance remaining in the fields. Compare to a somewhat inferior example in Stack's Bowers April 2020 CCO, lot 30015 (which sold for a total of $960).

 

Peter the Great founded the city of St. Petersburg—named in his honor—and wished to have a church constructed there commemorating St. Isaac of Dalmatia, as he was born on that saint's feast day. Numerous attempts were made and failed for different reasons, though a successful church was built beginning in 1818, the interior of which was completed around the time at which this medal was issued.

 

From what is today eastern Netherlands and western Germany, the Wieners were a Jewish family of exceptional medalists, especially known for numerous numismatic works throughout the Kingdom of Belgium. Eldest brother Jacques, along with younger brothers Leopold and Charles, created some of the finest works of medallic art of the 19th century, and all are particularly noted for their work in the highly detailed and intricate work of architectural renderings.

 

Upload: 1 March 2023.

 

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