XV: Dutch and French Medals, Cromwell and Tommaso Aniello, c. 1665, a cast hollow silver medal or plaquettepenning, unsigned (by O. (Wouter) Muller [?]), bust of Cromwell three-quarters right, supporters at sides holding wreath above his head, olivar cromwel protector v engel schotl yrlan 1658 in cartouche below, rev. bust of Aniello three-quarters right, two fishermen at sides holding coronet above his head, masaniello visschr en coninck v napel 1647 in cartouche below, 71mm, 78.70g (Platt I, p.345, type A; MI I, 432/78, Henfrey pl. v, 1; E 198). Made of two cast repoussé plates joined by a rim, very fine and toned, rare £1,200-£1,500

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The North Yorkshire Moors Collection of British Coins.

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Provenance: T.O. Mabbott Collection, Part IV, Hans Schulman Auction (New York), 26-7 May 1970, lot 1177.

In the style of many Dutch medals of the period, especially naval medals.

Tommaso Aniello (1620-47), aka Masaniello, a fisherman from Naples with a reputation for smuggling, was chosen to lead a protest against a new tax on fruit, levied by the Neapolitan nobility in July 1647 to raise money to pay the tribute demanded by Spain. The insurrection against the nobles was successful, and Masaniello’s mob of almost 1,000 citizens ransacked the armouries and opened the city’s prisons. Despite reaching an agreement with the viceroy of Naples, the Duke of Arcos, who confirmed upon him the title ‘captain-general of the Neapolitan people’ on 13 July 1647, Masaniello continued to sir unrest and was arrested three days later, only to be assassinated by a group of grain merchants said to be in the pay of the nobles. His head was cut off and brought by a band of roughs to the viceroy and his body buried outside the city. But the next day the populace, angered by the alteration of the measures for weighing bread, repented; his body was dug up and given a splendid funeral, at which the viceroy himself was represented. Masaniello shared no obvious similarities to Oliver Cromwell, other than a rapid rise to power at about the same time (Platt I, p.347)