France. Medal MEDAGLIE NAPOLETANE E DEL MERIDIONE Anno...

APLES AND THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM MEDALS Year 1816 – For the marriage of the Duke of Berry with the royal princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon 50 mm – 66.51 g – R2 – Work: Jean Bernard Andrieu – D’Auria no. 130 – Ricciardi no. 110. Struck in Paris. Obverse: LUDOVICVS . XVIII FRANC . ET . NAV . REX Bust to the right of the King of France, with long hair tied by a ribbon. At the bottom on the shoulder edge: ANDRIEU F. Reverse: SPES . ALTERA . REGNI (the other hope of the kingdom) Winged Genius standing, between a torch and an altar. In its hands two garlands of flowers, in the center of the right garland is impressed: CAROLINA FERDIN and in the left one: CAROLVS FERDIN. Exergue: CAR . FERDINANDA . SICILIARVM . REGIS . ÑOn the lower left: ANDRIEU F. Maria Carolina was born at Caserta on 5 November 1798, daughter of Ferdinand I of Bourbon, went to France in 1816 to marry Charles Ferdinand of Artois, Duke of Berry, younger son of the Count of Artois, future Charles X, brother of King Louis XVIII of Bourbon-France, depicted on the obverse of the medal. At 18, after lengthy diplomatic negotiations, she married Charles of Bourbon, Artois, Duke of Berry and Dauphin of France, a union largely desired by King Ferdinand, Carolina’s grandfather, who was keen to align with the future King of France to allow the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies to recover and reclaim its full standing in the community of nations after the Napoleon upheavals. At the wedding, King Louis XVIII spoke of his future granddaughter: “Yeux, nez, bouche, rien de joli, mais tout est charmant” (Eyes, nose, mouth, nothing pretty, but everything is charming). The early years of the marriage were spent in the best possible manner. The Duke reserved all his love for his young wife, which he had already expressed during Maria Carolina’s journey from Naples to Marseille, in frequent and passionate letters. Description of the Engraver: Jean Bertrand Andrieu, born in Bordeaux on 4 November 1761 and died in Paris on 6 December 1822. He was a French sculptor and medallist, one of the most important French medallists of the 18th and 19th centuries. He studied under Andre Lavau in Bordeaux before moving to Paris in 1786. In 1791 he produced a commemorative medal for the storming of the Bastille, thus becoming the leading engraver of the Napoleonic regime. He was also named a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. FDC

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