Medallion with Image of Benjamin Franklin
Jean Baptiste Nini (1717-1786) |
|
|
| Name/Title: | Medallion with Image of Benjamin Franklin |  | | Date Made: | 1777 | | | Maker: | Jean Baptiste Nini (1717-1786) | | | Nationality: | French | | | Place Made: | France: Onzain, Chateau de Chaumont | | | Materials: | a: Terra cotta; b: velvet; linen | | | Measurements: | a: 1/4 x 4 1/2 in.; b: 9 1/2 x 7 1/4 x 1/4 in. | | | Accession Number: | 86.12a-b | | | Credit Line: | Special Acquisitions Fund | | | Object Type: | Commemorative & Award Artifact | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nini's terra cotta and bronze medallions of Franklin wearing a fur cap were modeled after a portrait by the English artist Thomas Walpole (1755-1840). These plaques were particularly prized by contemporaries, partly because Franklin considered them to be a very exact likeness. "The clay medallion was the first of its kind in France. A variety of others have been made since, some to be set in the lid of snuff boxes, and some so small as to be worn in rings, and the numbers sold are incredible. These, with the pictures, busts and prints (of which copies upon copies are spread everywhere) have made your father's face as well known as that of the moon." - Franklin letter to daughter, Mrs. Sarah (Sally) Bache, 3 June 1779. A small number of the Nini terra cottas were made and consigned to America in 1779. The ship was wrecked, the cases salvaged, and deposited in a customs warehouse. Later, the cases were sold through merchants. Other cases were found at the Chateau de Chaumont, where they were made, and still others were discovered in a Bordeaux warehouse (Sellers). Almost all Nini plaques are in the usually seen small size (11.2-11.5 cm) - the larger ones (15.8 cm) are extremely rare.
|
|
|
|
Please wait.