Portrait medal of an Unknown Lady (obverse); A Kneeling Man with a Basket of Fruit, Cupid, and the Caduceus of Mercury (reverse)

Giovanni Maria Pomedelli

first quarter 16th century · Bronze (copper alloy with a light brown patina under a worn reddish brown layer of wax or lacquer) · Robert Lehman Collection

This portrait is typical of Pomedelli’s unassuming yet direct and sensitive manner. The inscription on the obverse, "F· B· ET· LONGIVS· VIVAT· SERVATA· FIDE" ("F. B. and may she live longer having kept her faith"), provides few clues as to the identity of the anonymous sitter. On the reverse is an impresa amorosa, a rebus composed of several elements referring to love. A kneeling man holds a basket filled with fruit. Before him is the caduceus of Mercury (the staff entwined with two snakes), while to the right Cupid stands on a globe inscribed A SO (Amor Superat Omnia, or "Love conquers all"). The scene may refer to Psalm 128:3: "A good wife is compared to a fruitful vine." It has been suggested that since the caduceus was a symbol of the Gonzaga of Mantua, the sitter portrayed on the obvese may have belonged to that family.

Artist

Giovanni Maria Pomedelli

Date

first quarter 16th century

Medium

Bronze (copper alloy with a light brown patina under a worn reddish brown layer of wax or lacquer)

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975