One of the most iconic medals of Royal Poland.
Impressive, large medal impressing with richness of details, composition.
Outstanding work of the famous Gdansk medalist Sebastian Dadler. Made for King Wladyslaw IV, commissioned by the Gdansk City Council, to commemorate the end of the wars waged by the Republic in recent years. As Count Raczynski recalled, this medal was used as a monument to the victories that graced the first years of Wladyslaw's reign, including Smolensk, the annexation of the Zadniprovinces, the recapture of Prussian cities and the repulsion of the Turkish onslaught.
Rarity.
It is a medal placed, along with "Smolensk", among the most collector-desirable works of medallic art of the 17th-18th centuries.
Invariably valued over the 400 years since its minting, it is often set into vessels, displayed in prominent places, and consequently polished and shined. The present piece is such a piece. Both the background and relief show traces of regular rubbing and polishing over a long period of time. Nevertheless, the medal has retained all the beautiful depictions on it well visible. Also the delicate ones, such as the building elements or ships on the reverse side. This is probably due in large part to the good quality of the minting, the best proof of which is the legibility of the SD signatures on the sides of the coat of arms shield held by lions. It is even invisible on many pieces, and as a result, even some of the literature does not mention its existence.
One of the rarest Wladyslaw IV medals in the trade (rarer than the Smolensk). For the first time in our offer.
Silver, diameter 80 mm, weight 144 g.
Obverse: the king pinning a horse, to the right, holding a mace, under geniuses flying above him. Troops visible in the distance. In the rim:
ECCE VLADISLAUM QUI POST TRIA BELLA QUIETEM RESTITUIT DIGNUM HAC TER TRIA SECLA FRUI(behold, Ladislaus, who restored peace after three wars, worthy of eternal merit). In the episode: HAC TRIPLICE DIGNUS(worthy of a triple crown).
Reverse: panorama of Danzig, under geniuses and Jehovah sign. At the bottom the coat of arms of the city of Danzig and a small date - 1642. In the rim:
JHOVAE FULTA MANU REGIS DUM PROTEGOR ALIS SPONTE MIHI OCEANUS VISTULA TERRA FAVENT.
When God carries me, and the King supports me with his help, together the Ocean, the Vistula, the land favor me.
