Julius II - “the Warrior Pope”

210, Lot: 359. Estimate $100. Sold for $420. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ITALY, Papal Medals. Julius II (Giuliano Della Rovere). 1503-1513. Æ Medal (34mm, 29.83 g, 12h). IVLIVS LIGVR PAPA SECVNDVS, bust right, wearing zucchetto and mantum / View of St. Peter’s Basilica; VATICANVS M in exergue. Mazio 33; Lincoln 426; cf. DDL pl. IV, 7/6 (obv./rev.). EF.

From the Luparello Collection.

The altar boy and nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, Julius II dealt with foreign affairs very forcefully, regaining Perugia and Bologna from their despots, even leading troops himself. In mourning for the loss of Bologna, he wore a beard for nine months, a practice which Clement VII copied and made vogue. Julius II was also a patron of the arts, financing artists such as Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bramante.