Medal: Sultan Mehmed II

Bertoldo di Giovanni

model 1480 (old aftercast) · Copper alloy. · Robert Lehman Collection

A portrait of Sultan Mehmed II of Turkey (1430 – 1481), the Conqueror, is on the obverse, and a chariot drawn by two horses and led by Mars, abducting Greece, Trebizond, and Asia, decorates the reverse. The medal was possibly commissioned by Lorenzo de’ Medici and designed by Bertoldo early in 1480. The reverse alludes to the preparations for an attack by Mehmed II on Southern Italy, which greatly interested Lorenzo de’ Medici. This old aftercase is probably from a lead original with much wear.

Artist

Bertoldo di Giovanni

Date

model 1480 (old aftercast)

Medium

Copper alloy.

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975