Antoine BENOIST (1632-1717) Medal to the glory... Lot 34

Antoine BENOIST (1632-1717) Medal to the glory of Louis XIV. In chased bronze Diameter: 85 mm. Reverse side with the profile of the King, aged 68, chiselled and engraved under the neck "A Benoist Eques AdVurim F.". Reverse side engraved " REGUM MAXIMO - POPULI DELICIIS - HOSTIUM TERRORI - SACRORUM VINDICI - ORBIS MIRACULO " (To the great king - Delight of the people - Terror of the enemies - Avenger of the sacred places - Miracle of the universe") and "ANTONIUS BENOIST NOBILITATI RESTITUTUS MDCCVI." ("Antoine Benoist, restored to his nobility, 1706") In its brown leather-covered case, decorated in gold with a frieze of fleurs-de-lis and sheathed of blue silk. B.E. 1706. Historical background: This medal is cited in the numismatic review of 1947 and one can consult on the subject the bulletin of the Society of the History of Paris and the Ile-de-France of 1896, which explains the many gifts of Antoine Benoist made, probably this one, to thank the sovereign for having responded favourably to his nobility claims, including the eleven portraits of the cabinet of medals made in 1704. Biography Antoine Benoist (1632-1717) Valet of the king's chamber and personal painter of Louis XIV, he was elected member of the Royal Academy of Painting. and sculpture in 1681. He had obtained the titles of painter to the king and his only sculptor in coloured wax, then the rank of knight of Saint Michael, known as a knight of the king's order. He became known thanks to an exhibition of 43 wax figurines representing the characters of the court. By With royal authorization, they were exhibited all over France. Their success was such that the Duke of York, who had resided in Paris and knew Antoine Benoist, and had become the King James II invited him in 1684 to visit England, where he executed a new series of wax figurines representing the king and his court. In his