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ORNE ENCHERES

Gaetan medal Gold, Rome, 1852 Diameter: 82 mm; thickness: 6.…
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Gaetan medal Gold, Rome, 1852 Diameter: 82 mm; thickness: 6.2 mm; weight: 422.9 gr, fineness 989/1000 A non-portable medal created in 1852 as a gift from Pius IX to the members of the diplomatic corps who accompanied him into exile in Gaeta after the establishment of the Roman Republic in November 1848. On the obverse is a bust of the pontiff with the words PIVS IX. PONT. MAX and the signature NIC. CERBARA F. The reverse is illustrated with a view of the port and city of Gaeta seen from the Capuchin convent, without any inscription. Signed lower right N CERBARA. Unlike the other medals struck and reported by Bartolotti, this medal is not inscribed by name. Historical background The idea of rewarding the diplomats who had accompanied and supported him during his exile had occurred to Pius IX at the beginning of 1849. The order was placed in September 1849 and produced in the Zecca workshops after the Pope's return to his homeland. Representatives of 18 sovereign states were honoured: the Empires of Austria (two medals), Brazil and Russia; the Kingdoms of Bavaria, Belgium, the Two Sicilies (two medals), Spain (two medals), Hanover, the Netherlands, Piedmont-Sardinia, Portugal and Prussia, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Modena, the Republics of Chile, Ecuador, France (two medals) and Mexico. Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli, Secretary of State, also received one. 22 gold medals were produced by the engraver Nicolà Cerbara, requiring 23 different corners, as the inscription on the reverse of each medal is inscribed with the name of the recipient. The 23rd medal for the Minister of Modena was prepared by Giuseppe Bianchi, with Nicolà Cerbara's signature, in 1853. Bartolotti points out that 7 bronze medals with no indication of the recipient were also struck and he believes that they were kept by Nicola Cerbara. Two examples are preserved in the medallions of the Vatican Apostolic Library. Stefano Bertuzzi (Pio IX nelle medaglie, nelle croci capitolari e nella faléristica, Rome, 2025) reports that 10 gold medals, without addressees, were struck, 5 in 1852 and 5 in 1853. They were prepared by Michele Sargiacomo, Zecca's engraver, and made available to the Sovereign Pontiff. The inscription bearing the names of the recipients having been replaced by a frieze The engraver Nicolà Cerbara (1796-1869), engraver and medallist, son of Giovanni Battista, engraver and medallist to Pope Gregory XVI. In 1815, he was appointed engraver (incisore); in 1818-1819, he married Louisa Capitani; the couple had four children. During the pontificate of Pius VIII (1829-1830), he was appointed die engraver at the Zecca, joining his older brother Giuseppe (1770 - 1856). He engraved the fisherman's ring for Gregory XVI in 1830. Together, the two brothers ran the Scuola della Medaglia at the Hospice San Michele, a veritable breeding ground for future medalists. In 1848-1849, he agreed to work for the Roman Republic and engraved several coins ( 5 baiocchi). In September 1849, the director of the Zecca ordered him to begin engraving the dies for the Gaeta Medal, but on 19 July 1850, the Minister of Finance dismissed him from his post. On 13 December 1852, he received the final payment for engraving the dies for the Medal of Gaeta. He left Rome at the beginning of 1853 for Florence and then settled in Montepulciano, where he died in 1869. He bequeathed his own medallion to the municipality. Two gold examples are known to exist: The one given to the minister of Chile, Raymond Alois Irrazaval, which is still in private hands (sold at a public auction in Tours in January 2012). The one given to the minister of Bavaria, Baron Karl Spaur, kept at the Kunsthistorischtemuseum in Wien. Two unattributed copies are kept in the medallion cabinet of the Vatican Apostolic Library. Bibliography: Franco Bartolotti, Le Medaglie pontificie di massimo modulo da Pie IX a Pie XI, Rimini, 1971, p. 18. Franco Bartolotti, Medaglie e decorazioni di Pio IX, Rimini, 1988, p. 63. Bernard Berthod, Pierre Blanchard, Trésors inconnus du Vatican, cérémonial et liturgie, Paris, 2021, p. 232. Stefano Bertuzzi, Pio IX nelle medaglie, nelle croci capitolari e nella faléristica, Rome, 2025. Carmello Calci, Medaglie e onorificenze del 1860-1861 dello Stato pontificio relatice alla Campagna dell'Italia centrale, istituto internazionale di studi Giuseppe Garibaldi, Rome, 2023, p. 247-249. Sylvana De Caro Balbi, Dizionario biografico degli Italiani, vol. 23, Fondazione Giovani Treccani, Rome, 1979. Many thanks to Mr BERTHOD Bernard for his expertise!
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About the sale SALE OF CATHOLIC SACRED ART (in preparation)
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Auction time 06/20/2026 at 2:00 PM
Lot description modified on 05/06/2026 at 2:08 PM
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