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  | JEAN-BAPTISTE NINI (1717-1786) Several intact cases of these medallions, each pair packed back to back in paper, were discovered in a Bordeaux warehouse in 1885, "as fresh as the day when they were first baked." (Hale, Franklin in France, Vol. 1, p. xvi). Nini was an Italian artist who worked in Paris where Franklin lived for nine years beginning in 1776. In accomplishing his mission to secure an alliance with France to aid America in the War of Independence from England, Franklin also won for himself immense personal popularity among the French, giving rise to a mini-industry producing Franklin memorabilia, amongst which were portrait plaques, terra cotta figurines, etc., depicting the eminent American statesman. |
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HIS plaque of Franklin, based on a drawing by Thomas Walpole (1755-1840), is Jean-Baptiste Nini's best known work. Each example was finished by hand, a fact reflected in their fineness of detail.