Leone Leoni (c. 1509-90), Ippolita Gonzaga (1535-63), bronze medal, HIPPOLYTA GONZAGA FERDINANDI FIL AN XVI, bust left wearing loose-fitting dress, pearl necklace with pendant cross, earring, diadem and with her hair elaborately plaited and coiled at the back of her head; signed in Greek ΛΕΩΝ ΑΡΗΤΙΝΟΣ, rev., PAR VBIQ POTESTAS, Ippolita as the huntress Diana flanked by hounds and advancing right, blowing a horn and holding a large arrow; in a building to the left, Pluto with Cerberus at his feet drags Proserpina viewed from the waist down into the underworld; in the sky, the moon and stars; a second building and trees in the background, 68mm (Attwood 42 (67mm); Armand I, 163, 7; Bargello 446; Scaglia 203; Scher, Currency of Fame, 51; Toderi & Vannel 70), pierced and with a tiny additional attempted piercing, some obverse marks in the fields, otherwise an extremely fine contemporary cast with glossy brown patina Provenance: John R. Gaines collection.Leoni was a goldsmith, coin engraver and sculptor of brilliance, and is considered to be perhaps the finest 16th century medallist. His circle of friends and patrons was wide and included Michelangelo, whose depiction on Leoni’s medal is considered possibly the finest contemporary portrait of the great artist. Here, his portrait of Ippolita Gonzaga brought praise within months of its making by the vigorous vernacular writer Pietro Aretino (who, himself was the subject of one of Leoni’s medals). In part he wrote in 1552: “[What] splendid joy that such gracious honesty knows how to procure nature in its virtue, this can be said about the portrait sent to me of the supreme Ippolita Gonzaga in a medal....Believe me, who am unknown to lies, that in the resemblance to the young distinguished [woman] ... breathes life...thanks to the spirit given to it by the wondrous style of the cavalier Leone...”

Estimate: GBP 8000 - 12000