Medal: Sixtus IV
Medium
Bronze (Copper alloy with warm brown patina and remnants of black wax or lacquer)
Dimensions
Diam. 4.1 cm, wt. 36.38 g
Classification
Medals
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.1279
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite bronze medal, struck in 1471 by Lysippus the Younger, commemorates Pope Sixtus IV, who ascended to the papacy that year as Francesco della Rovere. Measuring just 4.1 cm in diameter and weighing 36.38 grams, it belongs to the Renaissance tradition of portrait medals—small, portable sculptures that revived ancient Roman coinage while celebrating contemporary figures. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum Art's Robert Lehman Collection 1975, it the Pope's likeness with remarkable detail, reflecting the era's fascination with individualized portraiture. Lysippus the Younger, named afte...