Antique 18th Century Political Terracotta Portrait Medallion Benjamin Franklin Jean Baptiste Nini 1777

An important 18th century terracotta portrait roundel of Benjamin Franklin, by Jean-Baptiste Nini (1717-1786), signed and dated 1777.     A profile portrait-relief of Benjamin Franklin wearing his signature fur hat within a circular terracotta medallion. The upper surface of the medallion reads: "B. FRANKLIN / AMERICAIN" around the image. Impressed on the tranche of the sitter’s shoulder "Nini / F1777" has been engraved, with an additional "1777" repeated below. A relief shield has been rendered to the right of these inscriptions; the shield is emblazoned with a lightning rod and thunderbolt and surmounted by a crown.     Jean-Baptiste Nini was known as a sculptor and medalist, working in France in the mid to late 1700s. Franklin was a hugely popular figure in Paris. Here the Italian sculptor Nini depicts the American in profile wearing a fur cap that had become associated with him from a portrait by Allan Ramsay, who painted it in 1766, and which was well known from engravings.     Co