Nomos 17

FRANCE, Royal. Louis XIV le Roi Soleil (the Sun King), 1643–1715. Medal (Bronze, 40 mm, 30.07 g, 12 h), parcel gilt or Damascened, by Jean Mauger (1648-1712), on the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1660. LUDOVICUS XIIII • REX CHRISTIANISSIMUS • Bare head of Louis XIV to right; under neck truncation in small letters, J•MAVGER•F. Rev. REGVM CONGRESSIO• The kings of France, on the left, and Spain, on the right, standing facing each other, clasping their right hands; behind them, landscape with bridge crossing the river Bidassoa, which formed the Franco-Spanish frontier in the Pyrenees. In exergue PAX AD PIRENAEOS / M•DC•LX•. Divo 55 var. Pax in Nummis 225 var. (silver gilt). Van Loon II, p. 447. Very rare. Raised surfaces with contemporary parcel gilding, remaining surfaces with an attractive, deep brown toning. Good extremely fine.

A great French specialty of the later 17th and 18th centuries was the careful gilding of the raised surfaces of bronze medals that were then used as presentation pieces, especially during the reign of the ‘Sun King’, Louis XIV. The color contrast between the bright and pale gold on the relief and the deep brown of the toned bronze of the fields is particularly attractive; the same technique was used for the luxury furniture and objets d’art that were so characteristic of this period.