Medaille auf die Konsekration von Sigismund III. Christoph von Schrattenbach zum Salzburger Erzbischof 1753
Description
Picture on obverse: St. Rupert sitting in front of an altar, surrounded by two altar boys, the Duke kneeling in front of him, receiving the sacrament of baptism. In the section between two coats of arms cross a staff behind the pallium under legate’s hat.
Picture on reverse: St. Virgil under cathedral arches asking three workers to take their wages from a table. Banner at top. In the section below the date, the signature: FMK.
Writing on reverse: CUIQUE SUUM
Exergue: V APRILL / MDCCLIII
The medal celebrates the consecration of Sigismund Christoph von Schrattenbach (ruled 1753-1771) as Archbishop of Salzburg. However, apart from the indication of the corresponding date, the medal design does not highlight the consecration itself but rather leads far back into the historical narrative of the archdiocese through the depiction of significant sections from the lives of the two diocesan patrons. The obverse shows the baptism of the Agilolfinger Theodo II (ruled c. 680-717) as the culmination of the conversion of the duke together with his followers to Christianity by St. Rupert (c. 650-718) as the first bishop of Salzburg. The reverse of the medal shows St. Virgil (c. 700-784) as Archbishop of Salzburg and builder of the first cathedral in Salzburg: the saint is standing inside an already finished vault and assigning the deserving cathedral builders their wages in the form of coins. The signature in the section identifies the mint as the work of the Salzburg stamp cutter and medallist Franz Matzenkopf the Elder (1705-1776).