Italy Uniface cast portrait medal ND Isabella Mariani Carcass - after the Renaissance design by Giambattista Cambi VF+

Italy. Isabella Mariani Carcass, wife of Gianfrancesco Carcass. Uniface cast portrait medal after the Renaissance design by Giambattista Cambi, called Bombarda. Undated; casting date undetermined.

Obverse: Bust of Isabella facing left, wearing an elaborately embroidered gown with a high collar and puffed sleeves, pearl jewellery and a veil descending from her arranged hair. Surrounding inscription: ISABELLA MARIANA CARCASS. No signature discernible.

Reverse: Without inscription or independent design, with an uneven casting surface and areas of filing or abrasion.

An example of the Italian Renaissance tradition of individual portrait medals, recording the sitter’s appearance through richly detailed costume and jewellery. The composition belongs to Bombarda’s documented medallic work.

A corresponding unsigned example is preserved in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection, inventory 1957.14.1049. The Kress catalogue specifically notes the absence of the BOM signature on that example. The museum piece is a hollow-cast lead medal measuring 71.5 mm; it provides a reference for the design, rather than proof of the date or material of the present casting.

The manufacturing date of this specimen has not been established.

Type references: Armand I, p. 214, no. 2; Hill–Pollard, Renaissance Medals from the Samuel H. Kress Collection, no. 455; Pollard, Renaissance Medals, vol. I, no. 524.

Weight: 51.85 g. Diameter: 70 mm.

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