Stack's Bowers & Ponterio
January 2020 NYINC Auction 17-18 Jan 2020
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
RUSSIA. Nicholas I "Reign for Our Glory" Gold Medal, 1839. PCGS SPECIMEN-62 Gold Shield.
64.5 mm; 205.32 gms. Dia-547.1 (R-4). By Brasseux. VERY RARE. Obverse: Super high relief bare bust of Czar Nicholas I facing right and signed BRASSEUX FT. below the truncation, surrounded by his name and title in French, NICOLAS I EMPEREUR DE TOUTES LES RUSSIES; Reverse: Russian legend translating as "Reign For Our Glory" surrounds an ornate central medallion featuring the upper bodies of Saints Nicholas, Andrew, and Vladimir, as well as Saint George on horseback slaying the dragon, all supporting the 4 corners of an open book inscribed in Russian "Code of Laws." The outer circumference of the medallion is decorated with symbols of the military and the arts, the 12 o'clock position of the central medallion surmounted by a standard capped by the Russian imperial eagle. The entire reverse is meant to evoke the Glory of Russia, and perhaps a better description of the medal combines both obverse and legends to read "Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia, Who Reigns For Our Glory." This example, the only which we have seen in gold, boasts rich yellow coloration and fully brilliant surfaces, with some wispy hairlines in the fields that are far less obvious than one might expect from PCGS grade of SP-62. Altogether, a noble example of this superb medal, listed in gold and copper in Diakov; an essentially identical variant, listed as Diakov 547.2, features a legend-less obverse and a dated reverse and is listed in silver and copper. In fact, of all the medals he could have chosen, Diakov chose the reverse of 547.2 to adorn the cover of Volume 4 of his masterful multi-volume references on Russian medals, a testament to the beauty and symbolism of this design.
64.5 mm; 205.32 gms. Dia-547.1 (R-4). By Brasseux. VERY RARE. Obverse: Super high relief bare bust of Czar Nicholas I facing right and signed BRASSEUX FT. below the truncation, surrounded by his name and title in French, NICOLAS I EMPEREUR DE TOUTES LES RUSSIES; Reverse: Russian legend translating as "Reign For Our Glory" surrounds an ornate central medallion featuring the upper bodies of Saints Nicholas, Andrew, and Vladimir, as well as Saint George on horseback slaying the dragon, all supporting the 4 corners of an open book inscribed in Russian "Code of Laws." The outer circumference of the medallion is decorated with symbols of the military and the arts, the 12 o'clock position of the central medallion surmounted by a standard capped by the Russian imperial eagle. The entire reverse is meant to evoke the Glory of Russia, and perhaps a better description of the medal combines both obverse and legends to read "Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia, Who Reigns For Our Glory." This example, the only which we have seen in gold, boasts rich yellow coloration and fully brilliant surfaces, with some wispy hairlines in the fields that are far less obvious than one might expect from PCGS grade of SP-62. Altogether, a noble example of this superb medal, listed in gold and copper in Diakov; an essentially identical variant, listed as Diakov 547.2, features a legend-less obverse and a dated reverse and is listed in silver and copper. In fact, of all the medals he could have chosen, Diakov chose the reverse of 547.2 to adorn the cover of Volume 4 of his masterful multi-volume references on Russian medals, a testament to the beauty and symbolism of this design.
The Brasseux family were medalists in Europe in the mid 19th century, and this is not the only medal of Russian interest to emanate from their shop, Forrer noting a medal of Count Demidoff, who was born in Russia but who spent most of his life in Western Europe. It would be interesting if he himself commissioned this medal from the Brasseux family.
Estimate: $80000.00- $100000.00