Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 8 20 Sep 2017
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Commemorative Medals, France, Louis XV (1710-1715-1774), Foundation of the Military Academy in Paris [l'École Militaire de Paris], silver medal, 1769, by Benjamin Duvivier, laureate and armoured bust of King r., LUDOVICVS XV REX CHRISTIANISS, rev. façade of the academy, CRESCENTI AD MILITIÆ DECUS NOBILITATI, and in ex. PALÆSTRA EX ÆDIFICATA, 63.5mm. 161.089gms (Nocq 159, bust 4B; Trésor III pl L, 6; cf.Divo 175), a contemporary struck medal, a few light scuffs and handling marks, about extremely fine and very rare
Henry Nocq, Les Duvivier, Paris 1911, no. 159, describes the medal as dated 1768 [MDCCLXVIII], however, in a footnote, he refers to an example in the Musée Monnétaire (catalogue no. 147) as dated 1769. Although founded in 1750, after the War of the Austrian Succession, the academy did not open till 1750, with the buildings depicted on the medal, designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel. It served as a college for cadet officers from poor noble families, changing its name in 1777 to the École des Cadets-gentilshommes where, in 1784, the young Napoleon Bonaparte was accepted.
The Alan Irvine Collection of Historical and Artistic Medals (600-800 GBP)
Henry Nocq, Les Duvivier, Paris 1911, no. 159, describes the medal as dated 1768 [MDCCLXVIII], however, in a footnote, he refers to an example in the Musée Monnétaire (catalogue no. 147) as dated 1769. Although founded in 1750, after the War of the Austrian Succession, the academy did not open till 1750, with the buildings depicted on the medal, designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel. It served as a college for cadet officers from poor noble families, changing its name in 1777 to the École des Cadets-gentilshommes where, in 1784, the young Napoleon Bonaparte was accepted.
The Alan Irvine Collection of Historical and Artistic Medals (600-800 GBP)