A striking item with excellent provenance - from the Potocki collection.
Very large, heavy medal with high and elaborate relief. With preserved medal background mirror.
The work of Jan Höhn junior made in honor of the royal couple: John III Sobieski and Maria Kazimiera. Minted in Gdansk, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of their reign.
A very interesting feature of this medal is the fact that the date is encoded in the legends of the obverse and reverse (in the form of enlarged letters of the legends corresponding to Roman numerals, as a result, adding up these numerals both on the obverse and reverse we get the year 1686).
A very rare item. In the publicly available archives only a few quotations.
This is one of the best royal medals we have had on offer. Although the type has appeared with us once before, in 2021, reaching 56,000 zlotys at auction at the time, it was not in the same condition as this one (archive here)
An excellent piece. It is also worth noting that in this case both sides of it are equally well preserved. With two-portrait royal medals, and especially in those of "solid" dimensions, this is very rare. They were usually displayed in cabinets with one side, usually so as to expose the royal face, and it is usually the "non-royal" sides in contact with the ground that are noticeably less well preserved, vaulted in relief. The present one is beautiful on both sides.
It is at the same time an impressively fresh print with an exquisite mirror in the background. It has cuts in the background and one on the rim, but the relief is intact and unstained, with the original satin surface on it preserved.
The best piece of this rare medal we have yet encountered on the collector's market.
Silver, diameter 52 mm, weight 75.5 g.
Obverse: bust of John III wearing a laurel wreath, armor and toga. In the rim:
VIVat Joannes tertIUs reX poLonIae ChrIstIanorUM Defensor.
Long live John the third king of Poland, defender of Christians.
Reverse: bust of Maria Kazimiera in dress, with trefoiled hair. In the rim:
MarIa regIna PoLonIae VIVat proteCtrIX DIUtUrna.
Maria queen of Poland, long live protector.
