Alliance with Saxony
Medium
Gilt bronze, struck
Dimensions
Diameter: 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm)
Classification
Medals and Plaquettes
Culture
French
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Hon. Levi P. Morton, 1885
Accession Number
85.2.99
Art Historical Context
Crafted in 1806 by acclaimed French medallist Bertrand Andrieu, designs overseen by Baron Dominique Vivant Denon—Napoleon's influential director of museums—and struck at the Paris Mint, *Alliance with Saxony* is a exquisite gilt bronze medal measuring just 1 5/8 inches in diameter. This petite plaquette exemplifies the neoclassical precision of early 19th-century French medal-making, where finely detailed dies captured portraits, allegories, and emblems in high relief. The gilding lends a regal sheen, elevating it from mere coinage to a collector's treasure. Historically, the medal commemorat...
About the Artist
Bertrand Andrieu|baron Dominique Vivant Denon|Paris Mint · 1761–1822
French, Bordeaux 1761–1822 Paris