1778 Benjamin Franklin Portrait Medallion. Bare Head Left; French Legend. By Jean-Baptiste Nini. Margolis-19, Baiardi-Sibille 95, Greenslet GM-292, Storelli-LXVI, Villers-Unlisted. Terracotta.

159 mm; approximately 11.3 mm at the edge. 521 grams. Obverse with incuse signature I. B. / NINI. / F. on truncation, left of coat of arms, and date 1778 right of arms. Secondary signature and date I B NINI F MDCCLXXVIII below, in relief. B FRANKLIN IL DIRIGE LA FOUDRE ET BRAVE LES TIRANS around, separated by alternating lightning bolts and rods, with raised plain border. Made with a suspension hole from the top edge through to the back, as typical. Oblique edges finished in a pronounced bevel around the reverse rim. Light orange tan terracotta surfaces are uniform save for a trace of darkening from handling across the higher points of the design. Smooth surfaces and crisply detailed throughout. A few quite trivial flakes are noted around the obverse outer rim and a couple are also seen on the raised border, but none is distracting. The quality and aesthetic appeal are both outstanding and there are no visible cracks. The back features an uncertain penciled note we have seen on others (see next) as well as two small adhesive stickers. One is the A. Ploquin Collection sticker from which this came in the 19th century. This is a very rare type. Margolis only listed five specimens known to him in his survey those known. These include examples at the Atwater Kent Museum in Philadelphia, the Bibliotèque Nationale in Paris, the Château de Chaumont, one in the Christie's Paris sale of June 2010 and the present example which he used for the plate in Benjamin Franklin in Terra Cotta on page 97. He also included in the color plates an image of the Atwater Kent specimen, which is inferior to this. Similarly, this was plated in the Baiardi-Sibille study on page 216. An amazing survivor of exceptional quality with a fine provenance.

From the Richard Margolis Collection. Earlier from Hôtel Drouot's sale of the A. Ploquin Collection (Paris), May 29-30, 1896, lot 284; LeFuel and Praquin's sale (Paris), February 18, 1976, lot 73.

Estimate: $15000