DOI Artikel:
Taradaj, Paulina: 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
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49247#0203
QUO NON AUGUSTIOR ALTER. A FEW REMARKS ON THE SERIES...
of a combination of 12 dies. The medals are around 28 mm in diameter. They are
rare;50 we only know of examples in silver or bronze (or copper). By juxtaposing
all the inscriptions in the group under discussion and analyzing them against the
backdrop of Christian Wermuth’s oeuvre, we come to the conclusion that what we
may be dealing with here are satirical - or perhaps it is better to write unofficial
- medals and that they cannot have appeared at the initiative of Augustus II. We
should also definitely rule out the idea that they played a commemorative function
within the context of the plans associated with the erection of the equestrian statue
in Dresden mentioned above.
Augustus ITs reign, much like that of Augustus III (1733-1763), was divided
by short periods of rule by Stanislaw Leszczyński (1704-1709, 1733-1736); it
provided potent fuel for medals and medallions with images and inscriptions of
just this kind.51 It is also worth remembering that satirical medals were a specialty
of the German countries.52 It is extremely interesting that we can divide this group
into medals with Latin inscriptions and medals with German inscriptions, and this
division requires further investigation. The creator of the iconographic program of
the medals with Augustus II on horseback and the inscriptions in Latin takes up
an intelligent dialogue with the viewer, one that makes it possible to decipher the
images and inscriptions on the medals in many ways. The pedestal visible on these
medals can have a symbolic dimension, one that “elevates” the ruler. To a certain
degree, it can also be an ironic allusion - not so much to the equestrian statue
that was just then in the process of being erected in Dresden but to the ideas and
absolutist inclinations that the statue expressed. We can also decipher the inscription
Quo non Augustior alter in two ways: that Augustus [II Wcttin] desired to be more
divine than Augustus [Octavian] himself, or that of the two (i.e. Augustus II and
Frederick William I, who participated in the maneuvers), it was Augustus who was
the more worthy.
The idea that these medals can be interpreted ironically is mostly based on the
way we read the inscriptions and not on the distorted image of the ruler; therefore,
their ironic nature cannot be sustained with certainty. We also have to take into
account the possibility that the medals bearing the image of Augustus II on horseback
may be official, while the rest of the series is not. The only strong evidence of the
50 For example, in the old imperial collections in Vienna, there is only one example from the group under
discussion (Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Inv. no. 5701/1914/B). This item corresponds to the one mentioned
in Huttcn-Czapski (1880: 63, no. 5975).
51 I. e. medals commemorating the Treaty of Altranstädt in 1706. Augustus II had to renounce his claims to
the Polish throne in favor of Stanislaw Leszczyński, who was supported by Charles XII of Sweden.
52 As a matter of fact, manufactured objects of this kind had their origin in the German countries; it was the
Reformation that gave rise to such objects, which initially took the form of antipapal medallions. Cf. CHIPPS-
SM1TH 2010. On the subject of satirical medals, sec also: STECKI 1971.
199
of a combination of 12 dies. The medals are around 28 mm in diameter. They are
rare;50 we only know of examples in silver or bronze (or copper). By juxtaposing
all the inscriptions in the group under discussion and analyzing them against the
backdrop of Christian Wermuth’s oeuvre, we come to the conclusion that what we
may be dealing with here are satirical - or perhaps it is better to write unofficial
- medals and that they cannot have appeared at the initiative of Augustus II. We
should also definitely rule out the idea that they played a commemorative function
within the context of the plans associated with the erection of the equestrian statue
in Dresden mentioned above.
Augustus ITs reign, much like that of Augustus III (1733-1763), was divided
by short periods of rule by Stanislaw Leszczyński (1704-1709, 1733-1736); it
provided potent fuel for medals and medallions with images and inscriptions of
just this kind.51 It is also worth remembering that satirical medals were a specialty
of the German countries.52 It is extremely interesting that we can divide this group
into medals with Latin inscriptions and medals with German inscriptions, and this
division requires further investigation. The creator of the iconographic program of
the medals with Augustus II on horseback and the inscriptions in Latin takes up
an intelligent dialogue with the viewer, one that makes it possible to decipher the
images and inscriptions on the medals in many ways. The pedestal visible on these
medals can have a symbolic dimension, one that “elevates” the ruler. To a certain
degree, it can also be an ironic allusion - not so much to the equestrian statue
that was just then in the process of being erected in Dresden but to the ideas and
absolutist inclinations that the statue expressed. We can also decipher the inscription
Quo non Augustior alter in two ways: that Augustus [II Wcttin] desired to be more
divine than Augustus [Octavian] himself, or that of the two (i.e. Augustus II and
Frederick William I, who participated in the maneuvers), it was Augustus who was
the more worthy.
The idea that these medals can be interpreted ironically is mostly based on the
way we read the inscriptions and not on the distorted image of the ruler; therefore,
their ironic nature cannot be sustained with certainty. We also have to take into
account the possibility that the medals bearing the image of Augustus II on horseback
may be official, while the rest of the series is not. The only strong evidence of the
50 For example, in the old imperial collections in Vienna, there is only one example from the group under
discussion (Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Inv. no. 5701/1914/B). This item corresponds to the one mentioned
in Huttcn-Czapski (1880: 63, no. 5975).
51 I. e. medals commemorating the Treaty of Altranstädt in 1706. Augustus II had to renounce his claims to
the Polish throne in favor of Stanislaw Leszczyński, who was supported by Charles XII of Sweden.
52 As a matter of fact, manufactured objects of this kind had their origin in the German countries; it was the
Reformation that gave rise to such objects, which initially took the form of antipapal medallions. Cf. CHIPPS-
SM1TH 2010. On the subject of satirical medals, sec also: STECKI 1971.
199