Paduans by Cavino

364, Lot: 357. Estimate $1000. Sold for $650. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ITALY. Julius Caesar (100-44 BC). Æ Medal (37mm, 24.17 g, 12h). By Giovanni da Cavino, circa 1550. Laureate head of Julius Caesar left; star before forehead, lituus behind / VENI/VIDI/VICI within wreath. Klawans 1. EF, brown patina, two light scratches on portrait. An attractive first generation cast.

From the RBW Collection. Ex Sternberg XXI (14 November 1988), lot 640.

Trained as a goldsmith and metalworker, Giovanni da Cavino is best known for his medals, in particular those imitating ancient coins. Whether Cavino’s ancient imitations were intended to deceive has been a matter of debate, but the majority of scholars are now in agreement that they were not. Rather, Cavino’s medals demonstrate a shift from fanciful interpretations of ancient coins, such as those produced by Valerio Belli, to a more serious study of the originals. It was only later in the 16th century, when a forgery industry developed around Padua, that Cavino’s work became lumped in with these forgeries, and both the Cavino medals and the outright forgeries began to be referred to together as “Paduans.”