Germany, Martin Tucher (1460-1528), Burgomeister of Nuremberg, bronze medal by Hans Schwarz, dated 1519, bust right in broad-rimmed hat, rev., in ten lines: MARTIN TVECERS GESTALT ALS ERW AS LIX IAR ALT and engraved 15-19, 55.8mm (cf. Habich 161 var.; Kastenholz (2006) p. 177, 50 var.; Scher (2019) 257 var.), very fine, an unpublished variant and a contemporary cast with guide-lines to the inscription clearly visible on the reverse The original wooden model for the obverse of this medal is in the Staatsliche Museum, Berlin. Schwarzs medals in the main are uniface and it is likely the reverse of the present medal is by a different hand, especially as the spelling of the sitters name is not consistent with Tucher as written by Schwarz himself on the back of a drawing of a certain Magdalena Stayber (Kastenholz 153). Another variant of this medal, uniface but with an inscription around the portrait (reading Martinus Tueche LIX Iar Alt) was in the Vogel collection sold at Sothebys, 8 July 1997, lot 5 and is now in the Scher collection housed at The Frick Collection, New York (diam. 56.3mm). Virtually all of Schwarzs portrait medals and all his medallic drawings show his sitters facing left and Kastenholz has suggested that perhaps Tucher expressed a wish for his portrait to face right in anticipation of Schwarz making a medal of his wife facing to left, so that the two medals could be viewed side by side with their portraits vis vis. However, no such medal of his wife is known to exist.

Estimate: GBP 2000-3000