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TAe Reconstructionofa Polyptych by Signorellialla Madresi scorge un sepolcro,dentro del quale parchefissi le pupilleuna Femmina,rappresentataforseper SantaMariaMaddalena,dietro alla quale,ma in buonadistanzasivendonopili figure in lontananzadi Campagna,nella qualeapparisconopiu'tempij, e diversi alberi coloritivi a cap-pricciodel Pittore.This is, no doubt, the magnificentPieth in thecollection of Sir John Stirling-Maxwellat Pollock

House, Pollockshaws [PLATE, B]." Golgotha inthe distance, the grieving women, the dead Christin the arms of the fainting Virgin,the tomb andthe Magdalen follow upon each other exactly inthe ordergiven by Bicchi; and it is very remark-able that, if properaccountis not taken of the per-spective, the glance of the Magdalen may actuallyseem directed into the tomb, as it did to Bicchi.The two men to the right of the Magdalenare notaccurately described by Bicchi, who speaks of"several figures behind the Magdalen,at a gooddistance"; but his style is all through a mixtureof carelessness and accuracy, and there is onehorseman in the distance to the right, where the"numeroustemples"noticed byBicchialso appear.Finally,we have the followingdescriptionof thethird compartmentof the predella:-

Lacopiachee fattain d. Facciatae staivi controsegnatacon la letteraC. dependeessa puredal terzodisegnocomedependonoquelle,che si sono dimostratenel Quartoe nelQuintoche viene ad essers dalla Partedell'Epistola,in cuivien rappresentatoil Martiriodi S. CaterinaVergine, eMartirein questaforma: Si vede dallapartedestrasederesopraun Tronoil TirannoassistitodapidiMinistri,e Soldati,ed inlontananzaunPaesetto,dovesi scorgonodiversiSoldatia Cavallo,e ritornandoal primo presso della pitturavienrappresentadoil Manigoldo,che doppo haver troncatolaTestaalla Santa,sta in atto di ripporrenel fodero il ferro.La Testadella SantaVergineeMcrtire Caterinae sostenutadalle mani di uno de' soldatiche sonoappressoil Carnefice,e doppodi essi, e quasiin nuovospartimentosi dimostraitMiracolodelle Ruotespezzatedall'AngelodiscesodalCielo,con diversefigureatterrateper lo spavento,e con altre,chestannoin modo di cadere.

A comparison with The Martyrdoumof S.Catherine [PLATE,C] in the collection of Mr.E. Stanley, of Quantock Lodge, Bridgewater,will show a perfect concordance with the abovedescription.Many identificationsof old pictures which no-body thinks of contesting are based on evidencewhich, leg-allyspeaking,hardly could be describedas binding. It seems curious that when oncepicturesare as unambiguouslydescribed as thoseof this predella by Signorelli,they should have solong remainedunidentified.13Size as given in the above-mentionedcatalogue: 30 byiig cm. (1ii by 46Jin.).

NOTES ON ITALIAN MEDALS-XV*BY G. F. HILLHE seven bronze medalsdescribed inthese notes have been placed at mydisposal for publication by the kind-nessof theirowner,Mr.T. WhitcombeGreene. They are for the most partunpublishedand all, to some degree,interestingaspuzzles.i. REVERSEOFAMEDAL.

This tantalizing piece [PLATE, A] measures64 mm. Though a mere wreck, it is the wreck ofa fine design. Dating from about 1500, it has asuggestion of the MantuanSchool of that period;it is, at any rate,North Italian. Of the inscription,the only lettersthat are certainlylegible are AMOat the beginning and CONSTANT at the end.The rest is so obscurethat it would only be futileto record guesses at the reading. The fourthletter,it may howeverbe said, looks more like a Bthan the R that we should expect. A femalefigure,wearingtunic and mantle,is seatedin a two-wheeled car drawnby doves, who are guided by awinged putto. Facing her, on a higher level, isanother putto (perhaps also winged) who standswith his left hand above his head; beside him ishis quiver. Altogethera prettydesign,but to mequite enigmatic; for the lady in the chariot doesnot seem to be meant for Venus, as one wouldat first sight suppose. One is reminded of BenJonson'sverses:-

See the chariotat handhere of Love,Whereinmyladyrideth!Each thatdrawsis a swan or a dove,And well the car Love guideth.2. UNKNOWN WOMAN.I can make no conjectureabout the personwhois represented in the little one-sided cast medalhere illustrated [PLATE,G]. It measures 37 mm.The lady wearsa bag-likecoif on the back of herhead (a peculiar headdress which I have not yetnoticed on any other medal) and her features,which are full of character,belong to a woman ofabout forty years. The piece may perhaps bedatedto the firstquarterof the i6th century.3. OTTAVIANO PALLAVICINI.OCTAVIANVS ? PAL AEXTAT? ANNI"XXXIII. Bust of Ottavianoto r., bearded,wear-ing gown over doublet. No reverse. Comma-shaped stops. Cast. Diameter 54 mm. [PLATE, C].This medal appears to date from about 1525-1530, though it may possibly be later. I haveventured on expanding the surname as above,but am bound to confess that there are othernames beginning with Pal. which might put in aclaim. Unfortunately also, supposing that theman is a Pallavicino,we are still some distancefrom identifyinghim. For in Litta'stables I findno less than six membersof the family with thebaptismal name Ottaviano. Of these, the onewho occupies the most space, the son of Palla-vicino Pallavicini,is firstmentioned in 1499, and*For previousarticlessee Vol. xxIII,p. 17and note.36

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Notes on Italian Medalswent to Rome in 1512, summoned by the Popefor irregularconduct. His answers wereconfinedto the words " papa si, papa no ", and most ofLitta's account is concerned with this absurdinterview with the Pope.' I confess to nocertaintythat this eloquent orator is the personrepresentedratherthan any of his five namesakes.4. OTTAVIOFARNESE. By Pastorino.?OCTAVIVS" "FARNESIVS" Bust of Ot-tavio Farnese to r., with short hair, wearingmantle over cuirass; engravedon the truncation,*P* Inscriptionbetweentwo plain rules; pearledborder on raised band. Cast. Oval, with plainback,concave, 36x 31 mm. [PLATE, E].This is a companion to the little medal ofOttavio'swife, Margheritad'Austria,which is inthe Bargello at Florence." Both are treated inexactly the same way. There is also in theBargelloa puzzling little oval medal which lookslike one of the same group." It bears the inscrip-tion MAD"ARTEMITIA V" SENESE Thisinscription,however,looksas if ithad been chasedand altered, or as if the original inscription hadbeen entirelyremovedand this placed in its stead.There is a superficial resemblance between theportrait of "Artemitia" and that of Margheritad'Austria; but Pastorino is a superficial artist,and the resemblance is hardly close enough towarrant our supposing that an original portraitof the Duchess has been converted into one ofthe Sienese lady.Anothermedal of Ottavioby Pastorinois dated1552, and one of Margherita 1557.' This wasalso doubtless made about the same time; thegranitura or pearled border comes in onPastorino's medals,as I have shown elsewhere,5in 1551, so that it is not likely to be before thatdate.5. GIULIO DELLA ROVERE, CARDINAL OF URBINO.Armand's description, of this medal is defec-tive, and it seems worth while to reproduceMr.Greene'spretty specimen.Obv. IVLIVS CAR VRBI (slipped trefoils asstops) ; bust, youthful, wearing flat berrettaandmozzetta.Rev. A.OITONEAP. On the left, a femalefigure in a long tunic reclining; beside her, agriffon, with reverted head; from the right ap-

proachesa young man wearinga short tunic andmantle, and apparently scattering seed into herright hand.Cast. Diameter 39 mm. [PLATE, B]; 39 mm. isalso the measurementgiven by Armand for theVienna specimen. An ill-preservedlead cast inthe British Museum measures40'5 mm.I can makeno guess at the artist,nor interpretthe part played by the griffon in the allegoryof"perennial spring" on the reverse. Giulio wasmade Cardinal of S. Pietro ad Vincula in 1547,and becamebishop of Vicenza in i56o and arch-bishop of Ravenna in 1565. He is very youngon the medal, which was probablymade aboutthe date firstmentioned, when he was only fifteenyears old. On Pastorino's medal of 1559' hehas a beard, and indeed looks much older thanhis age.6. NICCOLOMADRUZZO.BYANTONIoABONDIO.In a joint articleon Antonio Abondio and themedallist A. A. 8, by the late Mr. Max Rosenheimand myself, there was some discussion of thereversetype of the battle of the gods and giants(DISCITE IVSTITIAM MONITI) which issometimes found attached to the portrait byAbondio of Niccol6 Madruzzo. We there stated,somewhat too decidedly, as I think my col-laboratorwould have been the first to recognizehad he been spared,that the reversewasoriginallymade by Abondio for the obverse,and was notmerelya cast of the reverseof Charlesthe Fifth'smedal by Leone Leoni attached to Abondio'sportraitby a later craftsman. I still believe thatthe Rosenheim specimen, reverse and all, is ofAbondio's time, and may have come from hisown hand; but in the light of Mr. WhitcombeGreen's new specimen of the medal [PLATE, F],it seems to me clear that another reverse,and notthe Gigantomachy, was originally designed forthe portrait. The obverse need not be describedagain; the elaborate reverse, however, needs agood deal of description (as well as interpretation,which I am unable to supply). Madruzzo,inheroic nudity, rides on a prancing horse, beforewhich hovers Fortune on a sphere. He leansbackwards and holds in his right hand cords, theother ends of which are held by seven womenwho follow his career. Two dogs appear to beworrying his horse's heels. Above, the halffigureof the Almighty appears in a cloud, and asecond cloud bursts in hail upon Madruzzo.Landscape with trees, buildings, distant moun-tains. The inscription PER" TOT' DISCRI-MINA RERVM. is in the exergue. The whole issurrounded by the usual pearled border which, itshould be noticed, leaves exactly the same marginto the edge of the medal as on the obverse;whereas on the Rosenheim specimen there is

ILitta, tav. XXI : Ottaviano is first mentioned in 1499,when he was included in the infeudation of Borgo SanDonnino. He mayhave been an infant at thattime,I suppose.Other persons of the same two names will be found in Litta'stables VI (son of Babilano, who died 1531; also mentionedx546); XVI (sonof Scipione,who is mentionedin 1546); XVII(sonof Gianmanfredowho was also living in 1547); XIX (sonof Ercole, son of Brunorowho died 152o); XIX (natural sonof Giannantoniowho is first mentioned147o and was living1520 ; his brothers died about 1544 and r557).2Supino, No. 335, tav. xxxvin,sSupino, No. 330, tav, xxxVIII.4 Armand I, 196, 46, 47,5Burlington Magazine, Sept, 1906, pp. 408 f.GIII, 254, S, ?Heiss,LesMidailleurs,Florence,ii,pl.XIV,138Burl.Mag.,Dec, 1907,pp. 141ff.

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Notes on Italian Medalsless margin on the reverse than on the obverse.The diameteris 76 mm.In style and details of workmanship there isabsolute harmony between the two sides of thismedal, and we now have the original and com-plete work by Antonio Abondio.Detailed researchinto the events of Madruzzo'slife might explain the meaning of the allegory,but from the few books on the subject whichseem to be accessible to the student in London Icanglean little information.' Niccolb di Giangau-denzio Madruzzo was originally destined for thechurch, and indeed held a canonry at Trent,which he resigned in 1529. In 1540 he wasinvested with the vicariates of Avio, Brentonico,Ala and Mori. In 1547, though he had notdrawn the sword before, Charles V appointedhim to a command over German troops whichhad been led by his brotherEriprando,just dead.He also commanded the guard of the Council ofTrent in the same year. He greatlydistinguishedhimself in the Germanwars; and in 1554 he ledtwo thousand Germans on the side of Cosimode' Medici in the Sienese campaign. About thesame time he was governorof Pavia. In 1564 hewent as imperial commissary to Monferrat,toreconcile the people of Casale with the Gonzaga.In his last yearshe fell on evil days, owing to hissupportof his son Lodovico's claims against theArchduke Ferdinand. He died in I570.Littagives his opinion that the medalwasmadein 1540, because it was in that year that Madruzzowas invested with the four vicariates of whichtwo are expressly mentioned on the medal. Butthat argument would only hold if we knew that

he resigned these possessions at a later date.Further,since Madruzzois representedin armour,the portrait must be later than 1547, when hebecame a soldier. On the other hand it canhardly be later than 1566, by which time theartist was leaving, or had already left, Italy forAustria. Madruzzo is of mature age, for hisforehead is wrinkled, though he is still evidentlyvery vigorous. One may without much risk datethe medal between 156o and 1565. The reverseseems to imply some turn of misfortune; if itrefersactuallyto the cloud that darkenedhis lastdays, it must come quite at the end of Abondio'sItalian period. Possibly the artist visited CastelMadruzzoon his way to Austria.7. REVERSE OF A MEDAL. 1582.VGNI DRITTO ASVO RIVERCIO. A houndstanding to 1., with head reverted; below,MDLXXXII. Borderof largepearlson raisedband.Comma-shaped stops. Cast 56 mm. [PLATE,D].The border is in the style introduced byPastorino in the 'fifties. It became popular,andwas used on many medals which cannot be attri-buted to him. He seldom troubled himself todesign a reverse,and I do not suppose that thiscan with any show of reason be assigned to him.In fact it has a rude vigourwhich is foreignto theamiable and facile Sienese artist. It is probablythe work of some Florentinewho amused himselfby designing a reverse; the inscription (" everyobverse has its reverse "'1) seems to suggest thatper contra this reverse was not designed for anyparticularobverse.

SSeeespeciallythe referencesin Litta,Madruzzi,Tav. 11.10 Or possibly "every obverse (should be united) to itsreverse"--a good mottofor a medallist,though expressedin asomewhat invertedform!

EARLY FURNITURE-XIIBY AYMER VALLANCELINEN-FOLD PANELSHAVE already had occasion severaltimes in these papers incidentally tomention linen-fold panels. It seemsfitting,then,at thepresentjuncturetodevotea littlespaceto theconsiderationof that favouritefeatureof late mediaevalwood-work.In order to appreciatethe place of linen-panel-ling in earlyfurnitureone has to forget the modernrestrictedsense of the term "movables" as used atthe present day, and to realize that in old timeswall-wainscoting was not regarded amongpermanentfixtures,but that it was as portableandas alienable as objects like chests or cupboards,beds or chairs. Such being the case, linen-panel-ling constitutesa widespreadand importantfactorin early furniture.There is littleenough ground for imagining that

the device of the linen-panel was derived at theoutset from any conscious attempt to imitatedrapery-folds. As a matterof fact it was evolvedsimply and solely from the exigencies of joineryconstruction. Take a given quantity of woodplanks,whichit is desiredto setupon end and to fixtogetherverticallyso as to fashiona connected runof wainscoting: an easy and obvious way toeffect this is to groove the edges of everyalternateplank,and to thin the edges of the other ones tofit into the grooves of the first lot-the stiles.This done-suppose the thinning of the edges toextend from almost the middle of the plank-itsaxialline presentsastripin relief,which,to borrowfrom the phraseologyof classic architecture,maybe called an arris. And if the same thinning berepeated also at the extremities,to make them fitinto a rail along the top and bottom, it is clearthat a rudimentarylinen-fold pattern has been

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