Sigmund Morgenroth Collection of Renaissance Medals and Plaquettes
St. Nicholas and the Three Virgins
DUQUESNOY, Francois (IL FIAMMINGO) (After)
A Satyr and Putti Playing with a Goat
DUQUESNOY, Francois (IL FIAMMINGO)
German (Southern), last half 17th century
Fall of Man and Expulsion from Paradise
Virgin and Child on the Crescent
Just before God destroyed Sodom for its wickedness, two angels alerted Lot to the forthcoming danger. Lot, his wife, and their two daughters were the only people to escape. Lot’s wife, curious to see the destruction, turned to look and was transformed into a pillar of salt. Believing they were the last people on earth, Lot’s oldest daughter formulated a plan, “…let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.” (Book of Genesis, 19:31) In this medal Lot is being served wine by his daughters. Both sisters become pregnant and conceive sons who form nations that will eventually war against the Israelites.
ENDERLEIN, Caspar (After)
German, Utrecht ca. 1565/70 - 1613; master 1599
The central subject of this medal is the story of Pan’s pursuit of the nymph Syrinx. Pan, the Greek god of the Woods and fields, is recognizable by the goat-like lower potion of his body as well as the horns on his head. He was infamous for his pursuit of erotic pleasures and the numerous women he seduced. Syrinx, a water nymph, however was impervious to his attempts at seduction and ran away from Pan. He pursued her and Syrinx, upon reaching the banks of the river and knowing that she would be caught, asked her sisters for help. The sisters transformed Syrinx into reeds growing by the side of the river. The image on the medal shows Syrinx in this moment of this transformation. Pan, heartbroken, cut some of the reeds and fashioned a flute from them and carried it with him at all times, making the Pan Flute one of his symbolic attributes.
German (Nuremberger), last half 16th century
King, in a Frame of Scroll Ornament
MASTER OF THE LABORS OF HERCULES
FLOETNER, Peter (School of)
The Sense of Touch: Venus and Amor
Christ and the Woman of Samaria
St. Joseph (The Holy Family in the Workshop)
Bearded Man with Book, Two Figures in Background
Bacchus Surrounded by Satyrs and Putti