The Relief of Vienna, September 12, 1683

Johan Ignaz Bendl

1683 · Ivory · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

This medal commemorates the end of the two-month siege of Vienna by the Ottomans, when the forces commanded by Jan Sobieski of Poland subdued the Muslim enemy. The obverse shows portraits of the Christian allies: Pope Innocent XI, Emperor Leopold I, King John III of Poland, and Marcantonio Giustiniani, doge of Venice. On the reverse, the eagles of the Habsburgs and Poland surround the carcass of a camel, symbolizing the Turkish army; Venetian boats arrive in the distance. "For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together" (Matthew 24:28) is inscribed on the banner.

Artist

Johan Ignaz Bendl

Date

1683

Medium

Ivory

Culture

Austrian

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of the Misses Josephine and Sarah Lazarus, 1890