Medal commemorating the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots to the Dauphin Francis of France, with Mary's privy seal and signet ring 1849

This sheet, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, depicts a medal commemorating the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, to the Dauphin Francis of France, rendered by John West in the mid-19th century. West's precise lines meticulously trace the circular forms of the medals and the heraldic symbols. The arrangement on the sheet—coins, seal, and ring—suggests a semiotic field, each object a signifier in the complex language of power and lineage. The central motif of the two profiles looking at each other is framed by text running around the perimeter of the coin. This design emphasizes the union as a political act, inscribing the couple within the continuous narrative of their respective monarchies. West captures not only the physical likeness but also the symbolic weight each object carries, questioning the stability of meaning through repetition and recontextualization. The seemingly straightforward representation of historical artifacts becomes a layered commentary on representation itself.