Gian Antonio Signoretti (d. 1602), Gabriele Lippi, uniface lead medal, GABRIEL LIPP, bust right on scrolled plinth, in loose drapery and with left hand across breast holding a filled cornucopia; signed below, S, 68.3mm (Attwood 652a (68mm); Armand I, 213, 2 and III, 95, b; Toderi & Vannel 1223; Kress 452 = Pollard 521; Bargello 631), pierced, slightly undulating flan and some marks, a very fine contemporary cast Provenance: John R. Gaines collection.Signoretti was a goldsmith whose activity is little known apart from records of a few commissions, including one to produce a vase from designs by Lelio Orsi for presentation to Duke Alfonso II d’Este in 1567. He was also, for some years, in charge of the Reggio mint. Signoretti owes much to Ruspagiari but his medals, as here, are much more exaggerated in style. This medal of the otherwise unknown Gabriele Lippi imitates the composition of Ruspagiari’s self-portrait (Attwood 642) but greatly embellishes upon it. The sitter holds a cornucopia while encased in a decorated cuirass enfolded by a tangle of wavelike drapery and volutes. While Balletti (1914) complained that these were suffocating, Wilchusky, in a catalogue note for Gaines (1998) observed, “the image is so layered with costume, allegory and blurred reality that it is, in the positive sense, marvellously rich and symphonic – Mannerism with all the stops pulled out.”

Estimate: GBP 2000 - 2500