Medal of Maria Jakoba of Bavaria

Description

Maria Jakoba, the eldest daughter of Margrave Philipp I of Baden and Elisabeth of the Palatinate, married Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria (1493-1550, duke from 1508) in 1522 at the age of 15. In 1534 when she was 27 a portrait medal was made of her by the leading Nuremberg sculptor and medallist Matthes Gebel (ca. 1500-1574 Nuremberg). The bust portrait shows an elegant lady wearing a pleated bodice decked with necklaces; on her head she has a plumed hat and her hair is held in a net. The reverse of the medal shows two clasped hands holding a heart from which two twigs with buds are sprouting, with the triple coat of arms denoting the alliance of the Palatinate, Baden and Bavaria, supported by two lions.