Hans Reinhart the Elder, gold portrait medal of Charles V, 1537, CAROLVS V DEI GRATIA ROMAN IMPERATOR SEMPER AVGVSTVS REX HIS ANNO SAL MDXXXVII AETATIS SVAE XXXVII, half-length bust right, in cap and embroidered coat, wearing the badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece, holding orb and sceptre, rev. crowned double-headed eagle, shield on breast, PLUS OVLTRE and the pillars of Hercules to left and right, signed HR below shield, 66mm., 142.60g. (Bernhart 93; Habich 1926; Kress 606; Trusted 143), the fields lightly burnished, some hairline marks to the left of the portrait, two small casting holes in reverse fields, extremely fine, extremely rare

Hans Reinhart the Elder, gold portrait medal of Charles V, 1537, CAROLVS V DEI GRATIA ROMAN IMPERATOR SEMPER AVGVSTVS REX HIS ANNO SAL MDXXXVII AETATIS SVAE XXXVII, half-length bust right, in cap and embroidered coat, wearing the badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece, holding orb and sceptre, rev. crowned double-headed eagle, shield on breast, PLUS OVLTRE and the pillars of Hercules to left and right, signed HR below shield, 66mm., 142.60g. (Bernhart 93; Habich 1926; Kress 606; Trusted 143), the fields lightly burnished, some hairline marks to the left of the portrait, two small casting holes in reverse fields, extremely fine, extremely rare

Details

Hans Reinhart the Elder, gold portrait medal of Charles V, 1537, CAROLVS V DEI GRATIA ROMAN IMPERATOR SEMPER AVGVSTVS REX HIS ANNO SAL MDXXXVII AETATIS SVAE XXXVII, half-length bust right, in cap and embroidered coat, wearing the badge of the Order of the Golden Fleece, holding orb and sceptre, rev. crowned double-headed eagle, shield on breast, PLUS OVLTRE and the pillars of Hercules to left and right, signed HR below shield, 66mm., 142.60g. (Bernhart 93; Habich 1926; Kress 606; Trusted 143), the fields lightly burnished, some hairline marks to the left of the portrait, two small casting holes in reverse fields, extremely fine, extremely rare

Lot Essay

The most famous of the medallic portraits of Charles V (b.1500. Emperor 1519-56, d.1558), this is the first of two versions produced by Reinhart. The second, dated 1544, shows Charles at the age of 44 with a slightly longer beard. The elaborate reverse has been described as 'perhaps one of the most successful heraldic reverses in all of Renaissance medallic art ' (S. Scher, Currency of Fame, New York 1994, p.285)

See also front cover illustration