Ulysses Musotti thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 64, The Wolfson Gallery

Ulysses Musotti

Medal
1515 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The reverse of a medal often bore designs that said something about the sitter. This medal of the Bolognese lawyer Ulysses Musotti shows objects found in a study, including a convex mirror on a triangular wooden stand. Often found in studies, mirrors could be used to magnify text, though they showed it in reverse. The medal is made by Francesco Raibolini, called Francia, a medalist, jeweller, goldsmith and painter from Bologna.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleUlysses Musotti (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Cast bronze
Brief description
Medal, bronze, representing the Doctor of Laws Ulysses Musotti, by Francesco Raibolini (called Francia), Italy, Bologna, ca. 1500
Physical description
Circular bronze medal the obverse depicts ulysses musotti a young man in profile facing to the left his hair falls to the base of his neck and he wear a cap. The reverse of the medal shows objects found in a study: including a book a mortar and an hour glass.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 6.6cm
  • Depth: 1.4cm
  • Weight: 0.18kg
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Marks and inscriptions
  • (Inscribed on reverse on book in Latin)
    Translation
    ‘He did not forsake the orphan and stranger; he was a helper to orphans and to the widow’
  • 'I.D.ANT.FILIVS. VLIXES.MVSOTVS' (Inscribed on the obverse)
Object history
Bought, 16s., 8d.
Subjects depicted
Summary
The reverse of a medal often bore designs that said something about the sitter. This medal of the Bolognese lawyer Ulysses Musotti shows objects found in a study, including a convex mirror on a triangular wooden stand. Often found in studies, mirrors could be used to magnify text, though they showed it in reverse. The medal is made by Francesco Raibolini, called Francia, a medalist, jeweller, goldsmith and painter from Bologna.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1861. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 23
  • Hill, George Francis. A Corpus of Italian Medals of the Renaissance, Before Cellini, Volume I, Text. London: British Museum, 1930, p. 156, No. 608
Collection
Accession number
7556-1861

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Record createdJune 11, 2009
Record URL
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