Los 2115. STUART. James I, with Anne. 1603-1625.
AR Medal (49mm, 50.58 g, 12h). The Marriage of James and Anne of
Denmark. Struck early 17th century. + QVOS + DEVS + CVNIVNXIT + HOMO +
NE + SEPARET (Those whom God hath joined together let no man divide),
Christ, wearing nimbus crown, standing facing between pregnant bride
(Anne of Denmark), holding palm frond, and groom (James VI of Scotland);
above, angel flying facing, crowning the couple with laurel wreaths;
below, two roses (England and Denmark); cityscape in background / + VT ·
AQVA · IN · VINVM + SIC · CRVX · IBIT · IN · SALVTEM (Just as water did wine, so will the cross turn into salvation),
sThe Marriage at Cana (John 2:1-11): Christ and the Virgin Mary seated
to left and center of table, respectively; seated around, bride, groom,
and two other guests; in foreground below, servant pouring water into
jars. MI -; Eimer -; van Loon -; GPH -; Hamburger (2 March 1908), lot
3574; Künker 170, 3976 = Künker 87, 4133 (same dies, though of 1½ talern
weight and attributed to Lübeck); cf. Sotheby’s London 571, 475 (gold,
attributed to Hamburg). Good VF, toned.
Very rare and historically
interesting.
Ex Dr. Heinz Pielsticker Collection.
This rare medal has for some time been attributed to the Stadt of Lübeck in Germany, as a Breiter doppelter Schautaler
(broad double ‘commemorative’ thaler), and the work of an unknown
engraver. Bearing neither date nor indication of intended region or
audience, this placement seems highly speculative at best. An
alternative attribution, however, has recently come to light in the form
of a rediscovered article from the October 1823 issue of The Gentleman’s Magazine, pointing toward a possible British theme.
On
6 June 1779, a small hoard of gold and silver coins from the reigns of
Elizabeth I-Charles I were discovered in and around the moat at Bossal
House. Included with these coins was a large silver medal, the same type
as the above lot. The tradition was that Sir Robert Belt, a former
resident at Bossal, had hidden a large sum of treasure around the estate
during the English Civil War. As he died before the restoration of the
monarchy, not all of these deposits were recovered at that time, as
evidenced by this small hoard unearthed over 100 years later.
The
article continues with an argument by John Wilson, Esq., on the
allegorical arrangement of the medal. The obverse clearly features Jesus
Christ between a couple to be married, whose attire reveals only that
it is late medieval, and nothing further. He proposed that the couple is
in fact James and Anne of Denmark, with the elements surrounding them
as indicative of this attribution. As such, Wilson viewed the medal more
as symbolic than historic in nature—a celebration by the Anglican
Church over James’s espousal of it over the expectations of the Catholic
or Presbyterian Churches. Rather than strictly being Anne, the pregnant
matron (as Anne was not actually carrying the future King Charles I at
the time) also signifies the Anglican Church, while the palm frond which
she holds represents her victory over her adversaries (Catholicism and
Prebyterianism). The owl and the pigeon to the right are emblematic of
the union of Wisdom and Innocence. The figures praying in the background
to the right appear as imprecating Divine Vengeance upon the union. The
tree to the left is that of an oak, representative of James’s strength
and steadfastness. The structure in the background to the left is a
church, but, lacking a crucifix, is thereby distinguished as Protestant
rather than Catholic. Finally, the two flowers at their feet are roses,
symbolizing the union of England and Denmark (obviously not at the time
of their marriage, however, as James’s accession to the English throne
would not be for another 14 years).
Though this medal is
particularly rare, a similar type (attributed to Lübeck, Behrens 727) is
much more common, and does have a distinctly German style to it—the
most obvious being the German legend on the reverse—as it features
engraving similar to other taler and doppeltaler pieces from that time and area. It is possible, therefore, that the piece above served as a prototype for the German Hochzeittaler
(wedding taler) from the mid 17th century, as the former shares much
stylistically with other Dutch medals from the late 16th and early 17th
centuries, a number of which did commemorate events important to British
history. Additionally, the gold version from the Sotheby’s sale was
clearly not intended as an off-metal strike, as the dies were different
from this piece. Therefore, it would appear that two distinct versions
were created, in gold and silver, unlike their German counterparts,
which are found only in silver. For these reasons, the attribution to a
German origin seems highly suspect, pointing more toward Dutch
manufacture and a possible English connection.
A final point
which cannot be overlooked is the obverse legend of this medal. In
context with a marriage scene, it would appear most appropriate;
however, a further connection to England, and more specifically, James I
himself, would be the similarity to the reverse legend commonly found
on the second and third coinages of his reign: QVÆ DEVS CONIVNXIT NEMO SEPARET
— a legend otherwise used only on a few Scottish issues from the mid
16th century. In any event, this medal is undoubtedly rare and worthy of
further scholarship due to its artistry and intrinsic design elements.