A remarkable French medal found during the cleaning of the Spalding Gentlemen’s Society’s collection has opened a window on the turbulent life of Marie de Medici, the queen who became regent of France after her husband’s assassination.
The medal dates from 1615, during Marie’s regency for her son, Louis XIII. It weighs 101.51g and measures 63mm across. Its discovery and the story behind it are detailed by Louisa Evans in the latest Musings from the Museum article, which first appeared in Issue 05 of The Antiquary, the publication provided free to members of the Society.
A powerful image of a queen in crisis
On the front, Marie is shown wearing a widow’s cap and a high, open ruff. The inscription identifies her as queen of France and Navarre: MARIA AVG GALLIÆ ET NAVARÆ REGINA.
The reverse presents Marie as Cybele, steering a heavily laden ship of state through a violent storm. It carries the inscription SERVANDO DEA FACTA DEOS. The image reflects the difficult political position she occupied after taking power on behalf of her young son.
Marie was born into the Medici family, a branch of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany. Henry IV selected her as his second wife after divorcing Margaret of Valois. The proposed marriage was both financial and dynastic: the king owed Marie’s father, Francesco de Medici, nearly two million écus, while the agreement included a dowry of 600,000 écus and cancellation of the debt.
Marriage, coronation and regency
Marie and Henry were married by proxy on 5 October 1600 and met in person when she arrived in Lyon on 9 December that year. Their first child, Louis, was born on 27 September 1601. Marie went on to have five more children between 1602 and 1609.
The marriage was unhappy. Marie objected to Henry’s infidelities but was expected to mix with his mistresses, and she was often denied money despite the size of her dowry. She also wanted to be crowned queen, but the ceremony was delayed for political reasons.
Her coronation eventually took place on 13 May 1610, shortly before Henry was due to leave to fight in the War of Succession over the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. The following day, Henry was assassinated and Marie became regent for Louis XIII. One of her first actions was to banish her late husband’s mistress.
The engraver behind the medal
The timing of the coronation and assassination fuelled talk of a conspiracy. During her regency, Marie proclaimed herself Governess of the Bastille, pursued political intrigues and supported favourites. She became unpopular, and after Louis reached his majority he eventually organised a coup. Marie was effectively exiled in April 1617.
Research identified the medal’s engraver as Guillaume Dupré. Born in Sissonne, Dupré trained under sculptor Barthélemy Prieur, whose daughter he married in 1600. His royal career included work for Henry IV and Louis XIII. He became Sculpteur Ordinaire du Roi in 1603, Contrôleur Général des Poinçons et Effigies des Monnaies de France the following year, and Premier Sculpteur du Roi in 1611. He died in Paris in 1643.
For Evans, the medal’s detailed depiction of Marie was the reason it stood out. Although the token’s obverse is distorted, she writes that surviving examples show exceptionally fine detail in the queen’s dress and widow’s hat.