Rare medal minted in commemoration of the escape of Princess Clementina from custody in the castle of Ambras nad Inn (Innsbruck) to Rome in 1719, by Otto Hamerani, signed under the bust.
Ex. Karolkiewicz collection.
Mint luster on both sides.
Dark patina.
Light surface hairliness.
Obverse: bust of the princess facing left, below the signature OTTO•HAMERANI•F•, CLEMENTINA • M • BRITAN • - FR • ET • HIB • REGINA •
Reverse: Princess in a two-horse chariot facing left, in the background on the left there is Trajan's column and the Colosseum towards which the ship is sailing, on the right the rising sun, FORTVNAM • CAVSAMQVE • SEQVOR, in the episode DECEPTIS • CVSTODIBVS • / •MDCCXIX•
Diameter 48.0 mm, weight 51.10 g
Clementina was the granddaughter of King John III and the wife of James Stuart, pretender to the throne of England, she was arrested by Emperor Charles VI and imprisoned in Ambras Castle on the Inn because the emperor was against the Sobieskis' marriage plans. After her successful escape to her fiancé, Pope Clement XI ordered the minting of a propaganda medal to help the Catholic Stuarts gain the British throne.
