Bronze Medal Struck In 1749 By The Artist Francois Marteau
Rim marked with artists mark and 'BRONZE'. Possibly 19th Century recast.
Obverse legend: SALUS GENE RIS HUMANI
Reverse legend: PAX AQUISGRANENSIS 28.OCTOB.1748.
This medal commemorates the peace treaty
signed in 1748 at Aix-la-Chapelle after the
War of the Austrian Succession when France was victorious.
A figure of Peace sits on a dias, holding an olive branch (peace) and a cornucopia (abundant prosperity).
She is surrounded by the attributes of science, navigation,
and the arts:
the benefits that flourish when war is banished.
The French king, Louis XV, is portrayed wearing a ribbon fillet after the portraits of the Roman emperors on classical coinage.
On the reverse, the
female personification of enthroned Peace is similar to representations
of the enthroned goddess Salus on the reverse of Roman coins.
The
medal’s inscription, SALUS GENERIS HUMANI recalls the goddess’s name and
role as guardian of the Roman people’s well-being.
François Marteau was a
medalist
and goldsmith. In this medal he created what many consider to be one of the
most elegant medals of Louis XV’s reign.
Marteau’s friend, Edme Bouchardon, sculptor to the
king, provided the design for the medal’s reverse for which
four preparatory drawings survive.
Diameter: 74mm
Thickness: 6mm
Weight: 200g
A rare find and except for superficial spotting, in very good condition.