Guillaume Dupré (c. 1579-1640), Charles Duret (c. 1560/5-1636, State Financier), as Lord of Chevry, large uniface bronze medal, 1630, MESSIRE CHARLES DVRET SEIGNEVR DE CHEVRY, bust left wearing ruff and mantle charged with the star of the Order of the Holy Ghost; below truncation, signed and dated GVIL DVPRE F 1630, 183mm (Jones -; Mazerolle 703 = Scher, Currency of Fame, 150; Smolderen 40), pierced, a faint scratch mark in field, an extremely fine and sharp contemporary cast with brown patina, extremely rare (reverse with incuse image) Provenance: John R. Gaines collection.Charles Duret, whose father was Henry IV’s physician, was raised at court and following the death of the king in 1610 he assumed complete control of the kingdom’s finances. Dupré’s deftly modelled portrait of the 70-year old man masquerading behind the carefully coiffed hairstyle, primped moustache and whiskers of a much younger one, appears to have perfectly reflected the character of the sitter, whom the 17th century writer, Gédéon Tallemant des Réaux described as cynical, greedy and boastful. “This is a delicious piece of characterization”(Jean-Baptiste Giard, Currency of Fame, 1994, p. 336).

Estimate: GBP 10000 - 12000