Germany, Anhalt, Ludwig Prince of Anhalt-Cthen (1579-1603-1650), gold oval portrait medal, 1606, by Matthus Carl, DG LVDOVICVS PRINCEPS ANHALTIN COM ASCA, draped and armoured bust to right with lace collar, AETA 27 on truncation, rev. DOMINE IN VIIS TVIS FAC-VT VIVAM 1606, crowned shield with strapwork cartouche, 36mm.x29mm. (Habich 2707 tf.CCLXVII,2; Mann 443 tf.XXXII), tooled on the obverse, extremely fine, very rare, in a gold and enamel mount, 59mm.x44mm., with three pendant pearls (69mm.x44mm. overall)

Germany, Anhalt, Ludwig Prince of Anhalt-Cthen (1579-1603-1650), gold oval portrait medal, 1606, by Matthus Carl, DG LVDOVICVS PRINCEPS ANHALTIN COM ASCA, draped and armoured bust to right with lace collar, AETA 27 on truncation, rev. DOMINE IN VIIS TVIS FAC-VT VIVAM 1606, crowned shield with strapwork cartouche, 36mm.x29mm. (Habich 2707 tf.CCLXVII,2; Mann 443 tf.XXXII), tooled on the obverse, extremely fine, very rare, in a gold and enamel mount, 59mm.x44mm., with three pendant pearls (69mm.x44mm. overall)

Details

Germany, Anhalt, Ludwig Prince of Anhalt-Cthen (1579-1603-1650), gold oval portrait medal, 1606, by Matthus Carl, DG LVDOVICVS PRINCEPS ANHALTIN COM ASCA, draped and armoured bust to right with lace collar, AETA 27 on truncation, rev. DOMINE IN VIIS TVIS FAC-VT VIVAM 1606, crowned shield with strapwork cartouche, 36mm.x29mm. (Habich 2707 tf.CCLXVII,2; Mann 443 tf.XXXII), tooled on the obverse, extremely fine, very rare, in a gold and enamel mount, 59mm.x44mm., with three pendant pearls (69mm.x44mm. overall)

Germany, Saxony, Elector Christian II (1591-1611), gold and enamel house-order collar of fourteen links, seven with a crowned initial C, seven with arms of the Saxon houses (Saxony, Meissen, Magdeberg, Pleissen, Brehne, Thringen, and Henneberg), and the arms of the Elector of Saxony on the clasp, another link, with the arms of Pfalz Sachsen, attached to the medal, total length 428mm., extremely fine, very rare

Provenance

Rothschild inv. no. AR2522.

Literature

1903 Theresianumgasse Inventory, p. 81, no. 186.

Lot Essay

Though not mentioned on the medal, this may have been produced to mark the betrothal of Ludwig to Grfin Amne Amalie von Bentheim in 1606.

There is no obvious reason why an Anhalt medal should be joined to a Saxon collar, but the two are listed together in Baron Nathaniel von Rothschild's 1903 catalogue.

This medal and collar are described and illustrated in Lore Brner, Deutsche Medaillenkleinode des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts, Leipzig, 1981, p.141, no.3c.

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