Dante, Beatrice, and Thomas Aquinas

257, Lot: 733. Estimate $150. Sold for $100. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ITALY, Papale (prigioniero del Vaticano). Pius XI (Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti). 1922-1939. AR Medal (44mm, 34.87 g, 12h). By Mistruzzi. Dually-dated RY II and AD 1923 in Roman numerals. Bust left, wearing zucchetto, mozzetta, and pallium / Pius XI kneeling right, with papal tiara on ground, before Pius V, seated left, and Leo XIII, standing left; behind, Dante and Beatrice standing on cloud; above, S. Tommaso d’Aquinao in mandorla. Mazio 882; Rinaldi 117. UNC, toned and lustrous.

In the Paradisio section of Dante’s Divine Comedy, the poet is led by his love, Beatrice, through nine spheres to the presence of God himself. In the fourth sphere, they encounter numerous wise men from history. Prime among these is S. Tommaso d’Aquino (St. Thomas Aquinas), whose scholastic method became increasingly popular during the late 19th century. As Beatrice guided Dante, so does the beatified Pius V guide the two later-day pontiffs.