Medal: Charles VIII

Unknown

model 1485–95 (possibly cast 19th century) · Bronze (Copper alloy with warm brown patina). · Robert Lehman Collection

Depicted on the obverse is Charles VIII (1470 – 1498), king of France (1483 – 98); on the reverse is Hercules wrestling the Nemean Lion. The medal is possibly a nineteenth-century aftercast, given the even and dull wear on the surface of both sides. The medal could have been made in 1485 – 91, referring to the wars that ended the union between France and Brittany. A more plausible occasion was the invasion of Italy by the French troops in 1495, as the reverse presents the king as alter Hercules, fighting the Nemean Lion, and with the text Pacator (peacemaker).

Artist

Unknown

Date

model 1485–95 (possibly cast 19th century)

Medium

Bronze (Copper alloy with warm brown patina).

Culture

Italian or French

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975