Political Terracotta Portrait Medallion Benjamin Franklin JeanBaptiste Nini 1777

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An important 18th century terracotta portrait roundel of Benjamin Franklin, by Jean-Baptiste Nini (1717-1786), signed and dated 1777.
A profile … Read more An important 18th century terracotta portrait roundel of Benjamin Franklin, by Jean-Baptiste Nini (1717-1786), signed and dated 1777.
A profile portrait-relief of Benjamin Franklin wearing his signature fur hat within a circular terracotta medallion. The upper surface of the medallion reads: "B. FRANKLIN / AMERICAIN" around the image. Impressed on the tranche of the sitter’s shoulder "Nini / F1777" has been engraved, with an additional "1777" repeated below. A relief shield has been rendered to the right of these inscriptions; the shield is emblazoned with a lightning rod and thunderbolt and surmounted by a crown.
Jean-Baptiste Nini was known as a sculptor and medalist, working in France in the mid to late 1700s. Franklin was a hugely popular figure in Paris. Here the Italian sculptor Nini depicts the American in profile wearing a fur cap that had become associated with him from a portrait by Allan Ramsay, who painted it in 1766, and which was well known from engravings.
Condition is very good, the portrait roundel is mounted in a gilt frame this rare piece of politcal memorabilia of one of America's founding fathers and polital heavyweights from the 1700s, ready to hang on your wall. See less