Reference:6473 Ercole II d'Este, 4th Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Regia, c. 1530

Large bust of Ercole II d'Este to right, bearded and wearing a cuirass and mantle. HER. II. DVX. FERR. IIII. MVT. ET. REG.

Two fully armoured knights, mounted in equestrian combat, within the precincts of a castle exterior, observed on its castellated ramparts by three standing figures.

Unidentified artist. 

Bronze, cast (505 grammes); 132 mm. 

Condition: Fine

Notes:

Both in diameter and weight, this is amongst the largest cast bronze medallic productions of the Renaissance and post-Renaissance period, with what appears to be an early, if not contemporary cast. The portrait is expressive in its power, in its qualities of definition. There is a stylistic naivety to the design on the reverse, with its depiction of a tournament and figures standing on a castle parapet, between two towers.