Medal of Cornelio Musso

mid-16th century

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

Cornelio Musso of Piacenza, the Franciscan bishop of Bitonto from 1544 to 1574, chose the image of a unicorn purifying a stream for the reverse of his portrait medal. Exceptionally, the animals gathered in the background seem to comprise juvenile unicorns, tended by classical figures. The incomplete Latin inscription reads, "Thus is poison from the holy." Did the learned priest, who had served as Inquisitor at the Council of Trent, see himself as one who purged the Church of poison, as the unicorn had done to contaminated water?

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: Medal of Cornelio Musso
Date: mid-16th century
Culture: North Italian
Medium: Copper alloy
Dimensions: Overall: 2 3/8 in. (6 cm)
Classification: Medals and Plaquettes
Credit Line: Dr. Stephen K. and Janie Woo Scher Collection
Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters