1778/1779 (ca. 1860s) Benjamin Franklin Portrait Medallion. Bare Head Left; French Legend. After Jean-Baptiste Nini. Margolis-21, Baiardi-Sibille Referenced under 96m, Greenslet GM-7, for type, Villers-48. Terracotta.165.7 mm, approximately 9.25 mm at the edge. 496 grams. Obverse with incuse signature and date I. B. / NINI F. / 1778 on leftmost truncation; coat of arms on right truncation. Secondary signature and date J B NINI F 1779 below, in relief, and widely spaced. B FRANKLIN IL DIRIGE LA FOUDRE ET BRAVE LES TIRANS around, separated by alternating lightning bolts and rods, with raised plain self-framing border. Made with a suspension hole from the top edge through to the back, as typical. Very slightly oblique edges, without beveling.<p>Deep tan terracotta with a soft orange tint is pleasantly uniform save for a bit of darkening on the highest points as often seen. A gentle abrasion has lightened a few points in the hair, but to minimal visual impact. From the face, only a couple of tiny flakes are noted in the border. Reverse chips are minor. Good detail throughout (aside from the typically weak truncation signature and date), but without the crispness and fine finishing seen on Ninis originals. This is a later production, suggested to have been made by Alfred Villers around 1860, but like all Nini plaques and early copies thereof, it is a highly prized artwork in its own right. Large-format pieces like this are particularly desirable and this type is very rare. In Richard Margolis extensive study of the series, he located just three examples of this medallion and he never acquired one for his own remarkable collection. One is owned by the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, another is in the Musee des Beauz-Arts, Blois, France. The latter one is plated in Margolis and badly chipped. A third is noted in a private American collection. It is unclear whether this is Margolis third specimen or if it is another, but in either case it is clearly a very rare variant.
