A beautiful reproduction of one of the rarest Polish medals cast by an artist from Italy brought by Queen Bona.
The medal described extensively by Albertrandi: An artist brought from Italy, that is, by order of Queen Bona, that is, also by the will of Sigismund I. himself, this medal undoubtedly did at the court of that King. The reason for this was probably the incorporation of Mazovia into the Crown, which took place after the death of Janusz, the last Mazovian Prince, poisoned from his own, as rumor had it, which happened in 1526. This unification of Mazovia with the Crown had long been demanded in Poland, and to hasten or facilitate it, there were those who, after the death of Queen Barbara, advised the King to renew the marriage vows with the remaining widow of Ziemowit, Duke of Mazovia, née Radziwillowna.
In addition to the incorporation of a large and populous province, located almost in the middle of the country and not conveniently separating various provinces around, King Sigismund had another reason for which the event of the extinct family of the Mazovian Princes seemed to him very favorable, freeing him and his descendants from fear, which the kings of the Jagiellonian family always had when they were elected to the throne of Poland, when numerous noblemen and many of the most prominent lords, recalling the glory, honor and merits of the Piast monarchs, commonly turned their eyes to the successors of the same house, living among themselves, expecting the same prosperity under their reign, which their great-grandfathers had experienced. Sigismund Augustus in wtêc line of Mazovian Princes secured in the following centuries, and with the occurrence of elections of the descendants of Jagiello. Evidence of this is the title DUX MAZOVIAE (Prince of Masovia), which precedes the titles of Russiae and Prussiae, which in subsequent times were used to precede, as evidenced by the year 1527, after the extinction of the family of Mazovian Piasts. In 1526 King Sigismund came to Warsaw on August 25 and gave Janusz, the last Duke of Mazovia, a dignified funeral, and took an oath of allegiance from the inhabitants of these lands.
The inscription utriusque Sarmatiae cannot mean European and Asiatic Sarmatia, because the King owned nothing in the latter; nor can it be taken, as Miechowita seems to understand, for Poland and Tartary, because the Tartars, although royal jurgilts, were not his subjects, so it seems that by this word Poland and Lithuania, two very separate nations before the Union. Although a large part of Poland, to the west, from the left bank of the Vistula could not be called Sarmatia.
High quality casting with no traces of chiseling, made from a very well preserved piece.
Gilded bronze, diameter 82 mm, weight 333 g.
