“1779” (circa 1890s) Benjamin Franklin Portrait Medallion. Bare Head Left, Latin Legend. By Émile Balon, after Jean Baptiste Nini. Margolis-26, Baiardi-Sibille 97, for type, Greenslet GM-7, Storelli-LXVIII, for type, Villers-46, for type. Terracotta.

129.7 mm; approximately 10.3 mm at the edge. 316.9 grams. Obverse with incuse signature I. B. / NINI F. on leftmost truncation, with suggestions of a date below; coat of arms on right truncation. Secondary signature and date NINI F 1779 below, in relief. ERIPUIT COELO FULMEN SCEPTRUMQUE TIRANNIS around, separated by alternating lightning rods, lightning bolts and the two combined. With raised plain self-framing border. Made with a suspension hole from the top edge through to the back. Straight edges finished with gently rounded rims. Deep tan terracotta with a faint orange cast on the obverse while the edges and reverse are a bit more orange. Some of the finer elements are relatively weak, as in Nini's signatures, and the 1778 date that should be on the truncation is all but missing here. The surfaces are also a bit less fine than seen on Nini medallions. Small pencil marks are noted within some of the letters of the legend. This type is not a Nini original, but is probably a product of Émile Balon's pottery works; it was likely produced from copy molds made from one of Nini's genuine medallions. The rates of shrinkage point to this reality as precisely as is possible with such an imprecise and variable medium. The Nini original of this type offered previously in the sale measures as 159 mm. Shrinkage from producing a copy mold then a secondary shrinkage from making the medallion, each being close to 10%, results in almost exactly the diameter seen here. Though not an original Nini, the portrait and overall artistic composition is of his hand and of the late 1770s. This type from the Balon pottery works is very scarcely seen and very desirable. This particular one has a bit of an older appearance than the next, and is a bit sharper. It is likely an earlier piece from Balon's output of the type.

From the Richard Margolis Collection. Purchased from Charles Prioleau at the AINA Convention, New York, May 1983.

Estimate: $2500