Westland London

Description

A pair of enormous Renaissance style brass roundels.
One depicting the coronation of Charles V of Spain (1519-1556) as the sovereign ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the other depicting him on his death bed. On the rims around each scene are depictions of symbols of power in the form of armour, helmets, shields and swords with his portrait medallion, inscribed with the words 'Carl V Magnus', to the top and a Scales of Justice medallion to the bottom. (The second image shows them in one of our galleries). Late 19th century, possibly French.

Notes: Charles V ruled both the Spanish Empire from 1516 and the Holy Roman Empire from 1519, as well as the Habsburg Netherlands from 1506. Under his rule extensive territories in western, central, and southern Europe, and the Spanish colonies in the Americas and Asia were brought together and were the first to be described as "The empire on which the sun never sets".

Diameter: 38 3⁄8" , 97.5 cms
Thickness: 2" , 5 cms