id: 144540
accession number: 1969.214
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.214
updated: 2022-01-04 16:40:48.794000
Two Pound Piece: George IV (obverse); St. George and the Dragon (reverse), 1823. After Benedetto Pistrucci (Italian, 1784-1855), after a design by Francis Legatt Chantrey (British, 1781-1841), Jean Baptiste Merlen (French, 1769–1850). Gold; diameter: 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection 1969.214
title: Two Pound Piece: George IV (obverse); St. George and the Dragon (reverse)
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: 1823
creation date earliest: 1823
creation date latest: 1823
current location:
creditline: The Norweb Collection
copyright:
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culture: England, George IV, 1820-1830
technique: gold
department: Medieval Art
collection: MED - Numismatics
type: Coins
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
* Benedetto Pistrucci (Italian, 1784-1855) - designer
* Francis Legatt Chantrey (British, 1781-1841) - artist
* Jean Baptiste Merlen (French, 1769–1850) - fabricated by
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measurements: Diameter: 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
inscription: BRITANNIAR: REX F: D: GEORGIUS IIII D: G:
translation:
remark:
inscription: 1895
translation:
remark:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Year in Review: 1969
opening date: 1970-01-27T05:00:00
Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* English Gold Coins: Ancient to Modern Times. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1963).
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PROVENANCE
Mrs. Emery May Holden Norweb (1895-1984), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
date: -1969
footnotes:
citations:
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
date: 1969-
footnotes:
citations:
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fun fact:
This is the only modern British coin on which the initials of the Master of the Mint, William Wellesley Pole, appear, on the reverse below the broken lance.
digital description:
wall description:
During the reign of King George IV, two-pound pieces were struck for circulation in 1823 only. Pattern pieces appeared in 1824, 1825, and 1826. The king was so disgusted with the caricature of a portrait that Pistrucci placed on the first coins of the reign that the artist was ordered to model a new obverse from a bust by the sculptor Sir Francis Chantrey (1781–1841). Pistrucci refused; it was beneath his dignity to copy the work of another artist. The work was therefore carried out by J. B. Merlen, assistant engraver at the Royal Mint.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Emery May Norweb. English Gold Coins, Ancient to Modern Times, On Loan to the Cleveland Museum of Art from the Norweb Collection. [Catalog. 1968.]
page number: p. 71
url:
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.214/1969.214_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.214/1969.214_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.214/1969.214_full.tif