The new show will go on display from the 18th November until the 21st March 2027.
The Wallace Collection will put the spotlight on the Medici family member who helped significantly to their rise to fame.
Through a group of five magnificent objects, including paintings, arms and armour and maiolica (earthenware), the exhibition explores how Cosimo I de’ Medici (1519–1574), Duke of Florence, first Grand Duke of Tuscany and one of the 16th century’s most powerful Italian princes, fashioned himself to legitimise his rule, express the magnificence of his court, and further establish the power of the Medici dynasty.
At the centre of the display is a wine cooler made in the prolific Urbino workshop of Flaminio Fontana in 1574, just before Cosimo’s death. It is one of few maiolica objects that can be firmly associated with Cosimo by the inclusion of his personal emblem, a turtle with a sail – a witty interpretation of his celebrated motto festina lente, or ‘make haste slowly’ – and infused with references to classical antiquity.
Two pieces drawn from the museum’s world-famous arms and armour collection are other major highlights of the display. One of these is a short sword (or falchion) from around 1550. Engraved with Cosimo’s heraldry and with a lion’s head pommel, referring to the ancient hero Hercules, the falchion was both a functional weapon and fashionable piece of parade armour. Its symbolism placed Cosimo in direct comparison with the gods of the classical
world.
Curatorial Assistant and curator of the display, Dr Julia van Zandvoort, says: “These splendorous objects related to Cosimo’s court show how design and image can be choreographed to project dynastic authority. This display helps visitors ‘read’ historical objects as instruments of power, not just things of beauty.”
Dr Xavier Bray, Director of the Wallace Collection, says: “Cosimo’s Florence demonstrates how art projected authority across a dynasty. Together, they open the museum to new conversations and invite visitors to look again at creativity as a force that shapes public life.”
To find out more visit: https://www.wallacecollection.org/whats-on/exhibitions-displays/cosimo-i-de-medici-art-and-dynasty/