Commemorative medal of Gustavus III, King of Sweden (1746-17 - Lot 242

Commemorative medal of Gustavus III, King of Sweden (1746-1792) Birmingham, 1793 In patinated bronze engraved by Conrad Heinrich Küchler (active 1763-1781) Obverse: right profile bust of the king, dressed in armor and fur-lined coat, with the abbreviated Latin inscription "GUSTAVUS. III. D : G. REX SVECIAE" (Gustavus III by the grace of God, King of Sweden). Reverse: A rectangular sarcophagus surmounted by a crowned vase on which the rays of a constellation descend. On the right, the figure of Renommée and, behind her, the symbols of Peace. On the left, a naked boy points to the scene of Gustaf's assassination, depicted on the front of the sarcophagus. Inscriptions: "TAM MARTE QUAM MERCURIO" - "HEU MALE PEREMPTUS" (on the sarcophagus) - "NATUS D.XXIIII JAN. MDCCXXXXVI. SUCC. D. XII. FEB. MDCCLXXI. TRUCID: D. XVI MART. MDCCXCII. OB. D. XXIX SUP. MENS. ET AN" in exergue Signed "C.H.Küchler. FEC". Diam. 5.6 cm Presented in a wooden frame carved with an interlace firse 12 x 12 cm This medal was struck in memory of Gustaf III, King of Sweden (born 1746, reigned 1771-1792), at the request of Matthew Boulton (1728-1807), an industrial entrepreneur from Birmingham. Of Belgian origin, Küchler settled in Great Britain in the 1790s and worked at the Soho mint for Boulton until around 1806. One example is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, inv. no. 205-1907.