Copies of Ancient Coins and Inventions all’antica in the Work of Jacopo Strada*

Jacopo Strada (fig. 1) was born in Mantua (b. 1505‒1515, d. 1588 in Vienna) as the son of aristocratic parents[1]. In Mantua, he was trained as goldsmith and painter and belonged to the circle of Giulio Romano[2]. His main interest lay in the field of ancient numismatics[3]. Giulio Romano owned a considerable coin collection stored in his house in Mantua which Strada frequently visited[4]. Back in the 1530s, Strada sought to contact Roman antiquarians and collectors. Even then, he started to document inscriptions and coins.

 

By the 1540s, Strada must have had acquired a certain renown as an expert in antiquities, since from 1544 he worked as antiquarian for Johann Jakob Fugger (1516‒1575). In 1546, he temporarily settled in Nuremberg, working as painter and goldsmith. During this period, he started to collect material for his future numismatic writings. Fugger sponsored his studies by granting him funds for his journeys to France and Italy, where he visited coin collections and exchanged ideas with fellow antiquarians. In 1553, before leaving for Rome to spend two years as Fugger’s antiquities’ scout, he published in Lyon the only printed book he ever authored.

This book was the Epitome Thesauri Antiquitatum, hoc est Impp. Rom. Orientalium et Occidentalium Iconum, ex antiquis Numismatibus quàm fidelißimè deliniatarum. Ex Musaeo Iacobi de Strada Mantuani Antiquarij (Epitome) (fig. 2)[5]. The Epitome is a book of biographies enriched with portraits of the Roman emperors from Julius Caesar to Charles V, including their relatives (fig. 3)[6].

 

 

In addition, the Epitome contains short descriptions of several coin reverses[7]. These reverses remained without illustrations, since the conversion into woodcuts would have required a considerable amount of time and technical effort[8]. Strada took many of these reverse motifs[9] from the illustrations of his MAGNUM AC NOVUM OPUS Continens descriptionem Vitae imaginum, numismatum omnium tam Orientalium quam Occidentalium Imperatorum ac Tyrannorum, cum collegis coniugibus liberisque suis, usque ad Carolu(m) V. Imperatorem. A Iacobo de Strada Mantuano elaboratum. TOMUS PRIMUS. ANNO DOMINI MDL (MaNO) (fig. 4)[10]. This thirty-volume work is the subject of our research project at the Forschungszentrum Gotha[11]. 

 

The descriptions in the Epitome are so precise that the coins and contorniates mentioned can be identified[12]. Strada was the first to publish descriptions of coin reverses and thus made a considerable contribution to sixteenth-century numismatic research[13]. In addition, his comments provide information on many aspects of numismatics and antiquarian research: i.e. religion, ceremonies, architecture and Roman society. Strada’s research on ancient monuments was based on the concept of the division of antiquitates into sacrae, publicae, privatae and militares as established by Marcus Terentius Varro^[14]. In the preface of the Epitome he wrote about the importance of in-depth knowledge of the coins to be able to distinguish genuine exemplars from contemporary imitations/fantasies[15]. He said that, in his days, coins existed that were made by »engravers who are as brilliant as they are excellent, [so] that they are comparable to the ancients, and who are too well-known to be named here. Therefore, one must take the greatest care to select the coins which have just been made in bas-relief by the [masters] who are particularly experienced, for their beauty and elegance«[16]. The names of these engravers can be found in Enea Vico’s Discorsi sopra le medaglie[17]: Giovanni da Cavino and his son; Vettore Gambello, Benvenuto Cellini, Alessandro Cesati called Greco, Leone Leoni from Arezzo, Iacopo da Trezzo and Federico Bonzagna from Parma. At the time, Federico Bonzagna was considered the most talented of these modern engravers[18].

Nonetheless, as will be shown below, even Strada did not always succeed in distinguishing modern creations from original ancient coins. He was also not averse to inventing coin motifs that he then included in his numismatic works. Here, I present three examples of illustrations from volumes 1 to 14 of the MaNO[19].

Strada’s Creative Numismatics

The first example is a rather visually expressive coin, depicting the murder of Cicero. It is described in the Epitome, in which only its obverse is illustrated (fig. 5). Obverse and reverse are shown on a drawing in the MaNO (figs 6a and b)[20] and described in the A<ureorum> A<rgenteorum> A<ereorum> NumismatΩn Antiquorum: ΔΙАΣKEYH. Hoc est, Chaldaeorum, Arabum, Libycorum, Græcorum, Hetruscorum, ac Macedoniæ, Asiæ, Syriae, Ægypti, Syculorum, Latinorum, seu Romanorum Regum, a primordio Vrbis, Deûm, Coss. tempore Reipub: & crescente adhuc, tam sub Cæss. Latinis, in occidente, quam Græcis Impp. in oriente, declinante Imperio P.R. denique Hexarchorum, Barbarorum Principum, Ducumuè: METALLICARUM EICONUM explicatio. Ex Musæo IACOBI STRADÆ Mantuani Antiquarij, Civis Romani: Cum septem Indicibus Locupletissimis, partim Alphabeticis, quibus res diuersissimæ continentur, partim serierum, quæ Regum, Cæss. Impp. ac Tyrannorum, necnon Heroinarum nomina perscribunt (Diaskeué) (fig. 7)[21]. This eleven-volume manuscript of coin descriptions is a further subject of our research project. Strada states in the Diaskeué that he saw this bronze coin at Giulio Romano's house in Mantua[22], while in the Epitome he mentions Rome as the coin’s home[23], Unfortunately, no original coin model could be determined for the two drawings[24]. Strada used here a literary source as basis for the coin drawing, i. e. a reference to Livy. He described the proscriptions under the triumvirate of Octavian, Lepidus and Antonius, the aim of which it was to avenge Caesar, and named the most famous victims[25]. Their portraits are depicted on the obverse of the coin. The reverse of an aureus minted for Septimius Severus might have been used as model (figs 8a and b). There, Julia Domna is depicted between Caracalla and Geta[26].

Sometimes it is assumed that this dramatic scene (fig. 9) was based on models used in the paintings of the great decorative programmes of the time. Nonetheless, no corresponding models could be identified in the work of Giulio Romano[27] or in Rome[28]. Only for some individual motifs potential models could be discerned, as happened, for example, for the presentation of Cicero’s head by the legionary Laena. Such scenes exist on the Column of Trajan[29], of which Strada probably made a copy (fig. 10)[30]. The trial scene, composed like a stage set, might instead have been modelled on miniature drawings by Giorgio Giulio Clovio (1498‒1578)[31], for example on the book illuminations entitled The Conversion of Proconsul Sergius (fig. 11) and Faith, Love, Hope (fig. 12). Since none of Strada’s contemporaries illustrated this coin, i.e. neither Enea Vico, Hubertus Goltzius, Sebastiano Erizzo nor Pirro Ligorio, it is safe to assume that it was Strada’s own invention.

 

 

 

 

Another one of Strada’s very creative and peculiar inventions is a ship with a prora in the shape of an elephant’s head (figs 13a and b)[32]. It can be found in the third volume of the MaNO which is dedicated to the coins of Marcus Antonius. Unfortunately, there is no description in the Diaskeué nor could an exact ancient model be identified[33]. What led Strada to this invention – perhaps meant as an allusion to Cleopatra and the lost Egyptian fleet[34] or simply the misinterpretation of a coin image – must remain without answer.

The third coin offers Strada’s most interesting invention, accepted until the nineteenth century. It is a denarius with Augustus radiate but no legend on the obverse. On the reverse (fig. 14), the temple of Janus Quadrifrons is shown with the inscription PAX ORBIS TERRARVM IMP. PERPET. S. C. This coin is said to have been in Strada’s own coin collection.

 

No such ancient coin ever existed. The model for this invention was probably a sesterce of Hadrian, also depicted by Du Choul in his work Discours della religion des ancien Romains, on which Janus is depicted with three faces (fig. 15)[35], although normally he is only shown with two. For the temple building, Strada borrowed parts of the illustration of the Temple of Janus on coins of Nero which he also depicted in the MaNO (fig. 16)[36], e.g. the gate of the temple and the construction of the roof. Furthermore, the coin legend itself is an invention. It actually either refers to Christ or to an ideal Christian ruler[37], since for the motif on the coin obverse – showing Augustus radiate, and therefore deified, as described in the Diaskeué – a ›divus‹ legend would normally be expected[38]. Du Choul was Strada’s only contemporary who illustrated this representation of the temple (fig. 17)[39] which, as he states, he had received from Strada (see fig. 15). Du Choul's work was later adopted by Louis XIV’s and Napoleon I’s coin engravers to commemorate successful peace treaties, i.e. the Peace of Rastatt in 1714 (figs 18a and b)[40] and the Peace of Pressburg (today Bratislava) of 1805 (figs 19a and b)[41]. When the peace treaty of Pressburg, negotiated by Francis I of Austria, was broken in 1809 and the French army remained victorious, Napoleon issued a coin with the motif of the Janus Temple. In this case, the temple was not shown with open doors, as had been customary in ancient Rome in times of war, but with broken doors (figs 20a and b) meant to indicate a particularly violent breach of peace[42].

 

 

 

In particular, the third example shows how much iconographic and numismatic knowledge Strada was able to use for his inventions. Therefore, he managed to design details that could not be found on ancient originals in such a way that they seemed authentic to his contemporaries (e.g. Du Choul).

Therefore, in the following section, selected exemplars of coin drawings from the first 14 volumes of Strada’s MaNO will be presented. These drawings were based on inventions by contemporary engravers who also used their talents to design coins after the antique that owed more to their imagination than to ancient originals.

Creations by Cavino and his Contemporaries

To identify Cavino’s and his contemporaries’ inventions solely by the use of drawings is very difficult. There only remains an identification based on inaccuracies in their presentation or on mistakes in the coin legends. An identification becomes impossible, if the model for the copy is an authentic coin and if the copy matches it. In this case, only the careful study of its condition, of the material and of the edges makes it possible to recognise whether it is a Paduan.

Inventions without direct ancient models can be found in the first volume of the MaNO, for example in the case of »Caesar on the Elephant Quadriga« (figs 21a and b)[43]. Strada claimed to have seen this coin in the collection of Antonio Agustín[44]. This claim can however not be confirmed, since Agustín’s collection was looted and dispersed by Napoleonic troops in the early nineteenth century[45]. There is no matching illustration in his Dialoghi intorno alle medaglie etc. Rather, the coin seems to have been Cavino’s invention (figs 22a and b) and is not depicted by other antiquarians[46].

Volume 12 of the MaNO shows a coin with Titus, laureate and looking to the left, on the obverse and an Italia with mural crown sitting on a globe on the reverse (figs 23a and b)[47]. Unfortunately, there is no description in the Diaskeué; therefore we do not know, in which collection Strada saw this coin. Its provenance would be of particular interest, since Klawans assumes that the coin is a modern forgery[48]. While the illustration in the MaNO proves its existence in the sixteenth century, only Sebastian Erizzo included its depiction in his Discorso sopra le medaglie antiche etc. (fig. 24)[49], in which it is shown with the same reverse legend ITALIA S C.

 

A further invention by Cavino without any direct ancient model is a coin with Vespasian on the obverse and the Colosseum and the Meta Sudans on the reverse (figs 25a and b)[50]. He claimed to have seen it in Fugger’s as well as Agustín’s collections. Here, Cavino combined the obverses and reverses of several ancient models (obverse of the sesterce of Vespasian with the reverse of a sesterce of Domitian for his deified brother Titus (figs 26a and b)[51]. Strada described Vespasian on the obverse as »looking to the right« (fig. 27); in the same way he is also shown on the – probably – original Paduan. There, the legend COS VII substitutes the inscription of COS VIII included in both drawing and description. Nonetheless, Strada presented Vespasian as »looking to the left«, identical to another Paduan based on a sesterce of Titus (figs 28a and b)[52]. Apart from Strada, no other antiquarian reproduced this coin.

 

Cavino’s imitation of Nero’s Porta-Ostiensis coin is also found in the ninth volume of the MaNO (figs 29a and b)[53]. The fact that this coin was an imitation created by Cavino is evident by the row of shields on the ship in the coin’s centre (fig. 30) which can only be found on this imitation. In the Diaskeué, Strada claimed to have this piece in his own collection[54]. His contemporaries however reproduced the ancient original[55].

 

Another Paduan shows »Augustus among the Gods« (figs 31a and b)[56]. Strada depicted Augustus with a shield in his left hand and a sceptre in his right in addition to Terra with a sea monster and Oceanus with a dragon-like monster as shown on the imitation by Cavino (figs 32a and b)[57]. On the contorniate, dating to the fourth century AD (figs 33a and b)[58], which probably served as model, Augustus holds a globe in his left hand and a spear in his right; Victoria holds a wreath in her raised right hand; a bovine is placed behind Terra and next to her appears a blossoming plant. A dolphin-like sea monster stands before Oceanus with crab claws stuck in his hair, while a water plant can be seen behind his back. Vico and Ligorio (figs 34a and b) also depicted this Paduan, whereas Goltzius shows the original (fig. 34c)[59].

For the final piece to be discussed here, Strada described the ancient originals in the Diaskeué in detail, while presenting a new, previously unknown version in the MaNO. The coin’s ancient original shows ›Honos‹ (to the left) and ›Virtus‹ (to the right) looking at each other (figs 35a, b and c). ›Honos‹ holds a cornucopia in his left hand and a sceptre in his right; ›Virtus‹ wears a helmet and military attire, the parazonium is in her right hand and a lance in her left. Her right foot rests on a helmet and the legend reads: HONOS ET VIRTVS S C[60]. The coin image is described in the Diaskeue in the same way[61]. Strada mentions Antonio Agustín as the owner, whose collection – as mentioned above – was looted and dispersed by Napoleonic troops in the early nineteenth century. In Agustín’s original edition Dialogos de medallas inscriciones etc., this coin was depicted exactly as described by Strada, i.e. identically to the ancient original[62]. Ligorio as well depicted it in this fashion[63]. On Cavino's imitation (fig. 35b)[64], however, Honos places his right foot on a dolphin and Virtus her right foot on a turtle. Vico also reproduced the coin in accordance with the Paduan (fig. 35c)[65], whereas Strada turned the dolphin into a helmet and the turtle into a globe (fig. 36a)[66].

The model for Strada’s depiction can be found today in the Vienna Coin Cabinet (fig. 36b). It originally came from the Tiepolo Collection. Senator Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo had acquired Sebastiano Erizzo’s famous coin collection at the end of the seventeenth century; in 1821 it was sold to Emperor Francis I of Austria[67]. Thorough examination of this piece showed that it was much reworked – possibly even a cast[68] – and in all likelihood not an original[69]. Therefore, the drawing was certainly modelled on the piece from Erizzo’s collection, with whom Strada was closely associated, as numerous owners’ details in the Diaskeué attest[70]. Unfortunately though, this coin is neither described nor illustrated in Erizzo’s work Discorso sopra le medaglie[71].

The obvious diversity between the description and illustration of this piece ought to be seen as evidence that the Diaskeué does not contain coin descriptions that complement the illustrations in the MaNO. Originally, this assumption had provided the foundation of our project and was based on Strada’s statement in his book catalogue[72] and on his declaration in the preface to his commentary on Caesar[73], in which he explained that the coin descriptions in the Diaskeué were meant to match the drawings after ancient coins in the MaNO.

This short summary shows that Strada – although he was aware of the problematic issue of modern creations after the antique – was not always able to distinguish between originals and imitations. To tell them apart would have required – in addition to a thorough autopsy and related methods of examining the material, presentation and legends – the use of an accepted reference work or catalogue. Unfortunately, at the time, no such work existed. Extensive research and a proper methodology of comparison, for which none of the prerequisites were yet available, would have been necessary. Strada’s Diaskeué was a first attempt to compose such a work. Interestingly, it did not meet with the expected success, since the Diaskeué was never printed and only survived in two complete manuscript copies[74]. Thus the work was only known to specialists, such as Adolfo Occo (1524‒1606)[75], as well as to the imperial librarian in Vienna, Peter Lambeck (1628‒1680), or Charles Patin (1633‒1693) whom Lambeck guided through the imperial library[76]. Therefore, Strada never received the full ›scholarly‹ recognition for his work by his fellow antiquarians.

In addition, there was a desire for completeness which was not only characteristic of Strada, but also of the other so-called artists-antiquarians, such as Enea Vico, Pirro Ligorio and Hubertus Goltzius, who were led by this ambition to create reconstructions or imitations (inventions/fantasies)[77]. Consequently, Strada stated the following reasons for this type of invention in the preface to the first volume of the SERIES Impp. Roman. ac Graecorum et Germanorum omnium a.C. Iulio.C.F.C.N. Caesare usque ad Maximilianvm II. Caes. P. F. Aug. una cum liberis patrimis atque matrimis ex a.a.a. numismatibus quam fidelissime delineatis: inservimus etiam iuxta tempora hexarchos et longobardor reges omnusqve cum ipsorum elogiis breviter descripsimus. Tomus primus continet XII Caes. a C.IVl.C.F.C.N. Caes. usq. ad Nervam Imp. Ex Musaeo. Iacobi de Stradae Mantuani Caess. Antiquarii Civis Romani[78] – meant as a short synthesis of the MaNO and the Diaskeué and intended as a gift for rich patrons, in particular the emperor: »Nevertheless, in any case it is true that not all coins match all inscriptions, as I would prefer: the reason is that not all of them were discovered, although all of them were minted«[79]. Due to their knowledge of the material and iconography, these artists-antiquarians, i.e. the engravers Cavino, Cellini etc., were also able to create »inventions after the antique«. This kind of creativity contradicted the intention of the so-called ›humanist antiquarians‹, such as Antonio Agustin and Jean Matal, who wanted to explore antiquity in all its aspects entirely on the secure basis of authentic ancient monuments and literary sources[80]. Therefore, Agustín was suspicious of inventions by artist-antiquarians, as he expressed in the well-known statement in his work Dialoghi intorno alle medaglie, iscrittioni et altri antichità:

My friend Pirro Ligorio from Naples, a great antiquarian and painter, wrote over forty books [i.e. manuscripts] about coins, buildings and other things [...] without really mastering Latin, as did Hubertus Goltzius, Enea Vico, Jacopo Strada and others. Those who read their books might think that they read all the Latin and Greek books ever written. They took what they needed from others and they exactly drew with the pen what others described […]^[81].

The artist-antiquarians wanted to reconstruct the ancient world as it had been using their imagination and coin images. This development would come to its peak in 1561 with Pirro Ligorio’s great plan of Rome (figs 37a and b) Anteiquae urbis imago accuratissime ex veteribus monumenteis formata, the buildings in which are exclusively based on coin images[82].

Paduans and other all’antica medals remained extremely popular well into the eighteenth century. Until the end of the Ancien Régime, these coins presented outstanding objects for the knowledge, appropriation and moral-educative role they possessed, even though or precisely since they had no ancient origins. Although they began to be criticized as copies by scholars by the end of the sixteenth century, they would not be rejected as forgeries until the nineteenth century[83].

Translation: Andrea M. Gáldy: agaldy@hotmail.com