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  • image Image 1 for SDR21.10
  • image Image 2 for SDR21.10
Obverse, SM SDR21.10. ©Sir John Soane's Museum, London. Photo: Justin Piperger
  • image Image 1 for SDR21.10
  • image Image 2 for SDR21.10

Medal struck in honour of Prince Metternich, 1835

1835

Bronze

Inscription: CLEMENTI · W · LOTH · PRINCIPI · A · METTERNICH
Inscription language: Latin
Inscription: LIB · ARTIVM · OVINOVE · PER · LVSTRA · CVRATORI · ET · DECORI
Inscription language: Latin
Inscription: ACAD · GRATA ·VINDOB · MDCCCXXXV
Inscription language: Latin

Museum number: SDR21.10

Not on display

Curatorial note

Head of Count Clemens Metternich, left. (obverse); Muse seated right, with extended left arm. She is seated on ruins with a collection of items on a plinth to the right including an ionic capital and an artist's palette (reverse).

Prince Metternich (1773-1859) [Klemens von Metternich] was an Austrian diplomat who was at the centre of European affairs for three decades. He was the foreign minister of the Austrian Empire from 1809 and Chancellor from 1821 until 1848. He brokered the marriage of Napoleon to the Austrian Archduchess Marie Louise in 1810, was made a Prince in 1813 for services to the Austrian Empire and led the Austrian delegation at the Congress of Vienna (1814) which decided the future division of Europe after the defeat of Napoleon.

This medal was presented to Soane by a Mr and Mrs Carlisle, likely to be Sir Anthony Carlisle (1768-1840), Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Academy 1808-24, and his wife Martha. Soane certainly records attending some of his lectures in his Note Book: 23 Jan 1809 At Mr Carlisle's 1st lecture; 8 Nov 1819 Mr Carlisle first Lecture and 11 Nov 1822 Royal Academy Lecture from A. Carlisle. He was knighted in 1821 by George IV to whom as Prince Regent, he had been surgeon-extraordinary. Carlisle was also a member of the Royal College of Surgeons from 1800 and donated a number of specimens to the Hunterian Museum. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society (as was Soane) from 1804.

Provenance help-art-provenance

A note on the original wrapping indicates that this medal was presented to Sir John Soane by Mr and Mrs Carlisle in May. This was probably May 1836, the year after the medal was struck (Soane died in January 1837).

Associated items

SDR21.10.A, wrapping


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