Sir Henry Newton (1651-1715), Queen Anne's Ambassador to the Medici Court, grandfather of Admiral Rodney, bronze medal by Massimiliano Soldani, 1709.

Sir Henry Newton (1651-1715), Queen Anne's Ambassador to the Medici Court, grandfather of Admiral Rodney, bronze medal by Massimiliano Soldani (1656-1740), signed and dated 1709, draped bust right, rev. an allegory of Prudence and Minerva, 86mm, 175g (Vannel & Toderi, 1987, no. 61; MI ii, 367/209). Suspension loop at top, otherwise a contemporary cast and about extremely fine with brown patina, rare.

The reverse legend can be translated as: Let each ask the other for help.

Newton's efforts in Italy seem to have been highly respected. The Dictionary of National Biography tells us: "In 1704 Newton was sent as envoy-extraordinary to Florence, where his urbanity and eloquence won the favour of the grand duke. He obtained for the English merchants at Leghorn (Livorno) permission to practise the protestant religion, a privilege which had been denied them since the days of Queen Elizabeth."

Equally, Newton once turned down the position of Judge (though later accepting it) on the basis that he would not impose the death penalty. Some believe this was specifically because he did not want to impose that penalty by default on the naval officers and sailors who, on the basis of faith, had remained loyal to Catholic James II during the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

"Towards the close of 1706 he was sent on a special mission to Genoa. He made his public entry there on 18 March 1707. The council assured Newton that the republic would carefully cultivate their friendship with Great Britain, and 'inviolably observe a perfect neutrality' in the Spanish Succession war." [Dictionary of National Biography]

He was recalled to England in 1709, the year the medal was made which suggests it was commissioned to celebrate his tenure, presumably by his Italian peers. As well as being a skillful statesman he was known for his extensive knowledge of the arts, and his command of languages, and Soldani alludes to this by including Pegasus at Hippocrene in the background of the image.

The artistic tradition of depicting allegorical personifications, inspired by classicism, became popular in Renaissance Italy and continued to be popular in the Baroque. Soldani would no doubt have been familiar with Cesare Ripa's seminal text, Iconologia, or Moral Emblems. First published at the end of the sixteenth century in Rome, Ripa's text served as a comprehensive guide to artists wanting to depict allegories of the virtues, vices, sciences, and the arts. Here, Soldani's image of Prudence takes clear instruction from Cesare Ripa, using the attributes of a stag, mirror, and remora (the long, serpentine fish wrapped around the arrow). Ripa explains, "the Stag chewing, that we should ruminate before resolving on a Thing. The Miroir bids us examine our Defects by knowing ourselves. The Remora, that stops a Ship, not to delay doing Good, when Time serves." These are all apposite qualities for an ambassador and remind us how an established language of iconography enabled artists to convey a large amount of information through imagery alone. For a medal-maker, working with only a very small area, this is particularly useful.