Lot 286: [ FRENCH MEDALS ]

GUILLAUME DUPRÉ (c. 1579-1640) Jean-Louis de La Valette (1554-1642), Duc d'Épernon, bronze medal, 1607, I L A LAVALETA D ESPERN P ET TOT PEDIT PRAEF, cuirassed bust right with mantle at shoulder; signed and dated G DVPRE F 1607, rev., INTACTVS VTRINQVE, a seated lion watched by a fox from his den, looks up at a Fury who holds two torches, 55mm (Mazerolle 656; Jones 22; Pollard 639 = Kress 557; Smolderen 13), pierced, black patina, an extremely fine contemporary cast

Provenance: Numismatica Genevensis 5, 2-3 December 2008, lot 522. Jean-Louis de La Valette, Duc d'Épernon (1585) was a major political and military figure in France during the reigns of Henry III and IV. The medal recalls his mission of reassurance to Metz and Strasbourg in 1607 following the military campaign against the Duchy of Bouillon in the previous year at Sedan. As Jones pointed out, the reverse symbolizes Strasbourg as the lion, between France and the Empire. According to a contemporary letter, the medals were intended to be distributed on this occasion.