103210 | ITALY. Marcello Capodiferro of Rome cast bronze Medal.

103210  |  ITALY. Marcello Capodiferro of Rome cast bronze Medal. Issued circa mid-16th century (37mm, 18.84 g, 5h). By a student of the Roman school.

 

MARCELLVS DE CAPODEFERRO, draped bust right, wearing soft cap // MERCVRIALIVM HOSPES VIRORVM, ox advancing left. Edge: Minor roughness as made.

 

Hill 861e = Pollard 266 = Kress 234 (holed). Very Fine. Tan-brown surfaces, some minor, typical casting pits.

 

Ex Michael Hall Collection, part III (Baldwin's 67, 28 September 2010), lot 2225.

 

Pollard, in Renaissance Medals, writes that "...Capodiferro, a Roman nobleman, was one of the conservatori of Rome in 1478 and was maestro di strada in 1488. The reverse inscription is adapted from the "mercurialium custos virorum" (the friend of poets) of Horace, Odae 2, 17, 29. The change of wording to read hopes may suggest that Capodiferro was host to an unknown Roman "academy" of poets. The ox is taken from the arms of the sitter." Though this type was once attributed to Cristoforo di Geremia, it is now believed to be anonymous, but emanating from the Roman school. About this school. Pollard notes that "...the Roman academies were much less formal than those of Florence or Naples and met at the homes of various hosts, confining their discussions mainly to latinity and antiquities."

 

Upload: 16 June 2025.

 

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