Description and research notes
Engraved vignette die proof titled 'Germania with Shield and Spear,' executed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., London, for the Banca Italo-Germanica circa 1871. The intaglio engraving portrays the female personification of Germany—Germania—standing armed with shield and spear, crowned with laurel, and rendered in the romantic classical style characteristic of early Bradbury Wilkinson export work. The surrounding cartouche bears the inscription 'BANCA ITALO-GERMANICA' and the denomination 500, indicating its later integration into the 500 Lire proof (PS977).
Created during the immediate aftermath of Italian unification, this design symbolizes transnational banking ties between Italy and Germany during the 1870s, when several joint-venture institutions were founded to facilitate industrial and financial cooperation. The engraving’s crisp line work and unblemished intaglio texture reveal Bradbury Wilkinson’s mastery at its zenith.
Vignette proofs such as this were pulled directly from the master plate for internal approval and artist reference; few survive, as most were destroyed following final plate acceptance. This surviving impression preserves both the technical precision and allegorical power of an image that bridged two emerging European banking traditions. A stand-alone masterpiece of late 19th-century steel engraving.