Martin Folkes (1690–1754)
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
Diameter: 54 mm
Classification
Medals and Plaquettes
Culture
Swiss
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Assunta Sommella Peluso, Ada Peluso, and Romano I. Peluso, in memory of Ignazio Peluso, 2003
Accession Number
2003.406.17
Tags
Art Historical Context
This finely crafted bronze medal, titled *Martin Folkes (1690–1754)*, was created in 1740 by the Swissist Jacques-Antoine Dass. Measuring 54 mm in diameter it exemplifies the exquisite plaquettes and medals produced during the Enlightenment era, when such small-scale sculptures served as portable tributes to intellectuals and scholars. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, this piece captures Folkes in a classical profile view—a nod to Roman coinage that revived Renaissance medal traditions. Martin Folkes, a prominent English antiquar...