Tom XIII
Kraków 2018
NOTAE NUMISMATICAE
ZAPISKI MMIZMVniZNi:
PAULINA TARADAJ
National Museum in Krakow
Quo non augustior alter. A Few Remarks on the
Series of Small Medals Issued to Commemorate
the Maneuvers of the Saxon Armies at Mühlberg
in 1730
ABSTRACT: This article describes a series of small medals by Christian Wermuth
depicting Augustus II Wettin (Frederick Augustus I, 1697-1706, 1709-1733; elector
of Saxony from 1694) on horseback, the horse stepping and placed on a pedestal.
This series consists of 11 medals and includes one variant from the collection of the
Numismatic Cabinet of the National Museum in Krakow that cannot be found in the
standard catalog of Wermuth’s medals by Cordula Wohlfahrt. The article explores
the possibility that the medals were not commissioned by the king himself. It is
not the above-mentioned image of a king on horseback that suggests that this may
have been the case - after all, this image is typical of Roman triumphal art and was
eagerly adopted in the early modern period by absolute monarchs like Louis XIV of
France (1643-1715) - but the inscriptions on the reverses when they are analyzed
as a whole group. Certain patterns used by Wermuth, who was known for carrying
out orders for satirical and mocking medals, also suggest that it may not have been
the king who commissioned the medals.
KEYWORDS: medal, Augustus II Wettin, Christian Wermuth, Mühlberg 1730,
equestrian portrait
ABSTRAKT: “Quo non augustior alter”. Kilka uwag na temat serii małych
medali wydanych z okazji kampamentu wojsk saskich pod Mühlbergiem w 1730 roku
Przedmiotem artykułu jest seria małych medali autorstwa Christiana Wermutha
przedstawiających Augusta II (Fryderyka Augusta 1,1697-1706, 1709-1733; elek-
tora Saksonii od 1694 r.) na koniu idącym stępa, umieszczonym na postumencie.
Kraków 2018
NOTAE NUMISMATICAE
ZAPISKI MMIZMVniZNi:
PAULINA TARADAJ
National Museum in Krakow
Quo non augustior alter. A Few Remarks on the
Series of Small Medals Issued to Commemorate
the Maneuvers of the Saxon Armies at Mühlberg
in 1730
ABSTRACT: This article describes a series of small medals by Christian Wermuth
depicting Augustus II Wettin (Frederick Augustus I, 1697-1706, 1709-1733; elector
of Saxony from 1694) on horseback, the horse stepping and placed on a pedestal.
This series consists of 11 medals and includes one variant from the collection of the
Numismatic Cabinet of the National Museum in Krakow that cannot be found in the
standard catalog of Wermuth’s medals by Cordula Wohlfahrt. The article explores
the possibility that the medals were not commissioned by the king himself. It is
not the above-mentioned image of a king on horseback that suggests that this may
have been the case - after all, this image is typical of Roman triumphal art and was
eagerly adopted in the early modern period by absolute monarchs like Louis XIV of
France (1643-1715) - but the inscriptions on the reverses when they are analyzed
as a whole group. Certain patterns used by Wermuth, who was known for carrying
out orders for satirical and mocking medals, also suggest that it may not have been
the king who commissioned the medals.
KEYWORDS: medal, Augustus II Wettin, Christian Wermuth, Mühlberg 1730,
equestrian portrait
ABSTRAKT: “Quo non augustior alter”. Kilka uwag na temat serii małych
medali wydanych z okazji kampamentu wojsk saskich pod Mühlbergiem w 1730 roku
Przedmiotem artykułu jest seria małych medali autorstwa Christiana Wermutha
przedstawiających Augusta II (Fryderyka Augusta 1,1697-1706, 1709-1733; elek-
tora Saksonii od 1694 r.) na koniu idącym stępa, umieszczonym na postumencie.