1731 GREAT BRITAIN ~ KING HENRY VI by DASSIER - 41mm - white metal or silver

Description

A nice high relief medal.  Please see the images and form your own judgment.  This medal was part of a series, the Kings and Queens of England.The dies for this series of medals were executed between 1731 and 1732 by Genevese artist Jean Dassier while residing in London.
They featured allegorical reverses, on this medal Time, holding a crown in one hand and manacles in the other, symbolic of the throne he occupied and the the imprisonment of Henry VI during his deposition of 1461-1470 during the War of the Roses.
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“THE DASSIER FAMILY
The Dassier family constituted a group of celebrated Swiss medalists from the late 17th to mid 18th centuries. The father, Domaine Dassier (1641-1719), was Chief-engraver at the Mint of Geneva from 1677 to 1720. His son, Jean Dassier (1676-1763), who succeeded his father as Chief-engraver on his father’s death in 1720, studied die-sinking under his father and later in Paris under Mauger and Roettiers. One of Jean Dassier’s sons, Jacques Antoine (1715-1759), learned the art of die-sinking under the celebrated goldsmith Germain of Paris. He was engaged as Engraver at the Royal Mint, London from 1741-1757. Another son of Jean Dassier, Antoine (1718-1780), worked with his father for a number of years, issuing a series of medals bearing the signature DASSIER ET FILS.
Dassier, Jean: Jean Dassier (1676-1763) was one of the most prominent and celebrated engravers of the eighteenth century. Highly regarded for his artistic skills, Jean Dassier was but one member of a noted Swiss family of medallists. He trained under his father, Domaine Dassier (1641-1719), chief engraver at the mint in Geneva. Jean later studied in Paris under Jean Mauger and Joseph Roettier(s). After serving his father as assistant engraver at Geneva, Jean assumed the position of chief engraver following his father's death, a position he held until his own death over forty years later. Jean Dassier was the most prolific of the family, issuing several series of medals, including a series of small medals (jetons) Les metamorphoses d’Ovide, a series of medals representing celebrated men and women in France during the 17th century (les hommes illustres du siecle de Louis XIV), a series of medals depicting the principal Protestant Reformers, The Genevan Theologians, medals illustrating the history of Geneva and, when in England, a series of famous English men (The British Worthies) and a series of English Sovereigns from William I to George II. In conjunction with his son, he also issued a series of small medals illustrating Roman history. Jean Dassier's three sons followed his footsteps in engraving, most notably Jacques-Antoine Dassier (1715-1759). The historian Forrer has claimed that Jean Dassier 'may be termed one of the greatest of eighteenth century Medallists'".
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