Médailles en mouvement: la réception des médailles de Louis XIV à la croisée des cultures (Medals in motion: The medals of Louis XIV as diplomatic gifts)

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

    Abstract

    This paper analyses the place of Louis XIVs medals, and texts that describe them, in French international diplomacy during the reign of le Roi Soleil. When the ambassadors of King Phra Narai of Siam came to France in 1686 they brought with them lavish gifts to honor their royal host. Among the many items the Siamese ambassadors received in return as they toured the kings domains were large gold and silver medals struck to commemorate the grandeur of Louis XIV. These medals were presented in lavishly decorated cases along with written explanations of their iconography. Likewise, when Louis XIVs ambassador to Persia, Pierre-Victor Michel, was sent to Isfahan in the early-eighteenth century he took with him large silver medals of Louis XIV along with a copy of Médailles sur les principaux événements du règne de Louis le Grand translated into Persian by François Pétis de la Croix. Analysis of the iconography of the medals chosen to represent Louis XIV and his nation to foreign courts will be presented here alongside an examination of archival material relating to the production and distribution of these medals as diplomatic gifts. This study reveals the political message that medals could convey as part of a sophisticated diplomatic engagement between France and her foreign allies. Moreover, it provides an insight into the dissemination of Louis XIVs histoire métallique as a means to perpetuate the history of the king beyond the confines of ancien régime France.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationLes Médailles de Louis XIV et Leur Livre
    EditorsRobert Wellington
    Place of PublicationFrance
    PublisherPresses Universitaires de Rouen and Le Havre
    Pages289-306pp
    Volume1
    Edition1st
    ISBN (Print)9791024005911
    Publication statusPublished - 2016

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