Baldwin's of St. James's
Auction 56 17 Mar 2021
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World Medals, Italy, Andrea Doria (1466-1560), Genoese Admiral and Condottiere, cast bronze medal, c.1541, by Leone Leoni (c.1509-1590), bust of Andrea Doria as Neptune to r., with trident at shoulder, ANDREAS DORIA, rev. galley rowed to r., in the sea below, two men (probably Doria and Leoni) in a rowing boat, from a rock, a fisherman casts his line, 41mm. (Attwood 5; Pollard 490; Bargello 712; Arm.I, 164, 9; Kress 431), probably a near- contemporary cast, very fine
As an Admiral of the Holy Roman Empire, Doria commanded several expeditions against the Turks and captured Corona and Patras. With Charles V he led the siege and capture of Tunis in 1535, however he was defeated by the Turks at Patras in 1538 and, again with Charles V, was involved in the ill-fated Algerian expedition.
Leone Leoni made the medal in 1541 in gratitude for his release from the Papal galleys, to which he had been sentenced for the attempted murder of a fellow craftsman, Pellegrino di Leuti, jeweller to Pope Paul III. It is generally assumed that Leoni depicted himself in the small boat on the reverse of this medal, rowing to freedom.
As an Admiral of the Holy Roman Empire, Doria commanded several expeditions against the Turks and captured Corona and Patras. With Charles V he led the siege and capture of Tunis in 1535, however he was defeated by the Turks at Patras in 1538 and, again with Charles V, was involved in the ill-fated Algerian expedition.
Leone Leoni made the medal in 1541 in gratitude for his release from the Papal galleys, to which he had been sentenced for the attempted murder of a fellow craftsman, Pellegrino di Leuti, jeweller to Pope Paul III. It is generally assumed that Leoni depicted himself in the small boat on the reverse of this medal, rowing to freedom.