Lot 387: PIETRO PAOLO GALEOTTI (c. 1520-1584) Cosimo I de'

PIETRO PAOLO GALEOTTI (c. 1520-1584) Cosimo I de' Medici (1519-1574), Duke of Florence (1537), bronze medal, c. 1567, cuirassed and draped bust right, rev., fountain surmounted by statue of Neptune; to the left, an aqueduct stretching into the distance, 43.3mm (Attwood 862; Armand III, 110, U; Bargello 412; Toderi/Vannel 1567), edge file marks, a contemporary striking, about extremely fine with dark patina"

Ex English private collection, Lepke, Berlin, 22 April 1913, lot 331 (""Sammlung eines Engländers""); H.G. Oldenburg, Kiel, acquired 1994. This forms part of Galeotti's series of thirteen medals struck to celebrate Cosimo's achievements, this one commemorating the acquaducts constructed in Florence and Pisa during his reign. The reverses copy medallions by Vincenzo Borghini which were set up to decorate the courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio and Galeotti's series was much praised by Vasari. "