1966.131.41.a
Maria Theresa (1717–1780), Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia 1740–1780, Treaty of Fuessen
Artist
Jacques Antoine Dassier
(Geneva, 1715 - 1759)
Title
Maria Theresa (1717–1780), Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia 1740–1780, Treaty of Fuessen
Creation Date
1745
Century
mid-19th century
Dimensions
3 15/16 in. (10 cm.)
Classification
Medals/Plaquettes
Creation Place
Europe, Switzerland
Medium and Support
bronze, traces of black patina
Credit Line
Gift of Amanda Marchesa Molinari
Copyright
Public Domain
Accession Number
1966.131.41.a
Empress Maria Theresa of the Austrian Habsburg line ascended to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire in 1740. An alliance of European powers immediately challenged her sovereignty, citing her ineligibility as a woman and prompting the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). This medal commemorates the 1745 Treaty of Fuessen, which ended Bavaria’s participation in the war, a decisive moment leading to Maria Theresa’s victory. The depiction of the Roman goddess of wisdom and war Minerva on the reverse is an acknowledgment of Maria Theresa’s brilliance in war and diplomacy in eighteenth-century European politics.
Object Description
332 MARIA THERESA (1717-80), Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, 1740 1745
Obv. Bust to left. Around, MAR : THERESIA . D : G : REG : HUNG : BOH : ; below, I . D .
Rev. Minerva seated on clouds over the earth, holding spear and Medusa-head shield; her right foot rests on portion of globe. Around, ET MENTE ET ARMIS . ; below, 1745 . I . D . F .
Bronze, struck, traces of black patina, 55 mm.
Bibl.: Forrer i, p. 516 (as by Jean); Brescia 2, p. 92, no. 101.
