Heraclius
Michelet Saulmon
(French)
about 1400
Object PlaceFrance
Medium/TechniqueMetal; bronze (88% copper, 9.5% zinc with small amounts of lead and tin)
DimensionsDiameter: 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.)
Credit LineTheodora Wilbour Fund in memory of Zoë Wilbour
Accession number67.291
On View
On viewClassificationsNumismatics
Collections
This inspired image of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius (610-641) was likely designed by Michelet Saulmon, a court painter to Jean, Duke de Berry. Heraclius was celebrated as the heroic leader who recovered the relic of the True Cross, looted from Jerusalem by the Persians. With sharply turned head, he lifts his eyes to rays of light, and wears a splendidly ornamented crown, his fingers wrapped in his beard, his body supported by a crescent moon. These elements might be interpreted as signs of his virtues (divine inspiration, kingship, wisdom, and dominion, for example). This work is a French forerunner of the two-sided portrait medal that would become a characteristic type in Renaissance art throughout Europe.
InscriptionsObverse: Inscribed at edge in Greek ["Heraclius, faithful in Christ our Lord, king and emperor of the Romans, victorious and triumphant, forever exalted"], across field, first word in Greek and then "·LLVMINA·VVL·TVM·TVVM·DEV" ["Cause thy face to Shine, O Lord"], and on crescent shape "·SVPER·TENEBAS·NOSTRAS·MILLITABOR·IN·GENTIBVS·" ["Upon our darkness; I will make war upon the heathen"].
Reverse: Inscribed at edge "+SUPER+ASPIdEM+ET+BAXILISCVM+AMBVLAVIT+ET+CONCVLCAVIT+LEONEM+ET+dRACONEM+" ["He has trodden on the asp and basilisk and trampled on the lion and the dragon" from Psalm 90:13] and across field in Greek ["Glory in the heaves to Christ the Lord, for Emperor Heraclius has broken through iron gates and set free the Holy Cross"].ProvenanceFriedrich (Fritz) Neuburg (b. 1876 - d. 1966), Litomerice, Czech Republic and Tel Aviv [see note 1]. 1967, sold by Blumka Gallery, New York, to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 8, 1967)NOTES:
[1] According to a handwritten notation by MFA curator Hanns Swarzenski. Neuburg sold much of his collection at auction in Paris in 1939, but this medal cannot be located in those sales.
1535
late 13th–14th century
about 1220–30