Nomos AG
Auction 25 20 Nov 2022
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ITALY. Papal States. Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia), 1492-1503. Seal or Bulla (Lead, 36.5 mm, 44.94 g, 12 h), Rome. S / P/A - S/ P/E Nimbate facing heads of St. Paul, on the left, and St. Peter, on the right; between them, a Latin cross on a staff and base. Rev. ▴ALE /XANDER▴ / ▴PA•PA▴ / ▴VI▴ in three lines, the whole within a doted border. Serafini 68-69. Very well-struck, with powerful heads of the Saints, and in unusually fine condition, and portions of the original cord. Nearly extremely fine.
From the Dr. Pelc Dens Sapientiae Collection, USA, ex Classical Numismatic Group e409, 8 November 2017, 909.
The elaborate seals of Paul II, with the seated figures of Sts. Paul and Peter on the obverse and with a scene of the Pope with cardinals and worshippers on the reverse, marked a break from the then traditional papal bullae, which had the rather stylised and medieval heads of Sts. Paul and Peter on the obverse and the papal titles on the reverse. This form was modernised under Sixtus IV (1471-1484) whose seal continued in the old format, but changed the heads of Sts. Paul and Peter into those of bearded, renaissance gentlemen, as those that we see here.
Alexander VI was born in 1431 in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia, which was then under the Crown of Aragon. His career in the Church began at the age of 14 thanks to the patronage of his uncle Alfonso Borgia, who ultimately became Pope Callixtus III in 1455, and who made Rodrigo a cardinal in 1456 and vice-chancellor of the Church in 1457. Thus began a career of immense power and influence, which culminated in his being elected pope, as Alexander VI, in August 1492. Tracing his full history would take up the rest of this catalogue: while he was certainly venal and a champion of nepotism, he did suppress the powerful Roman aristocracy (especially the Colonna and the Orsini), he brought the Romagna under complete Papal control, and, ultimately, he was one of the greatest Popes (despite the Borgia reputation). He also had quite a family: his favourite mistress was Vannozza dei Cattanei (1442-1518, she previously had a somewhat fleeting relation with Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere - the later Pope Julius II), the mother of four of his children including both Cesare and Lucrezia; another was Giulia Farnese (1474-1524, the sister of Alessandro Farnese, who Alexander made a cardinal and who later became Pope Paul III), with whom he had a daughter, Laura; and, finally he had another four children with unknown mothers (one of those four children, Isabella, was the great-great-grandmother of Giovanni Battista Pamphilj - Pope Innocent X).
From the Dr. Pelc Dens Sapientiae Collection, USA, ex Classical Numismatic Group e409, 8 November 2017, 909.
The elaborate seals of Paul II, with the seated figures of Sts. Paul and Peter on the obverse and with a scene of the Pope with cardinals and worshippers on the reverse, marked a break from the then traditional papal bullae, which had the rather stylised and medieval heads of Sts. Paul and Peter on the obverse and the papal titles on the reverse. This form was modernised under Sixtus IV (1471-1484) whose seal continued in the old format, but changed the heads of Sts. Paul and Peter into those of bearded, renaissance gentlemen, as those that we see here.
Alexander VI was born in 1431 in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia, which was then under the Crown of Aragon. His career in the Church began at the age of 14 thanks to the patronage of his uncle Alfonso Borgia, who ultimately became Pope Callixtus III in 1455, and who made Rodrigo a cardinal in 1456 and vice-chancellor of the Church in 1457. Thus began a career of immense power and influence, which culminated in his being elected pope, as Alexander VI, in August 1492. Tracing his full history would take up the rest of this catalogue: while he was certainly venal and a champion of nepotism, he did suppress the powerful Roman aristocracy (especially the Colonna and the Orsini), he brought the Romagna under complete Papal control, and, ultimately, he was one of the greatest Popes (despite the Borgia reputation). He also had quite a family: his favourite mistress was Vannozza dei Cattanei (1442-1518, she previously had a somewhat fleeting relation with Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere - the later Pope Julius II), the mother of four of his children including both Cesare and Lucrezia; another was Giulia Farnese (1474-1524, the sister of Alessandro Farnese, who Alexander made a cardinal and who later became Pope Paul III), with whom he had a daughter, Laura; and, finally he had another four children with unknown mothers (one of those four children, Isabella, was the great-great-grandmother of Giovanni Battista Pamphilj - Pope Innocent X).