‘I heard about the negotiation with Agostini’

This article focuses on negotiations that took place between 1667 and 1673 leading to the purchase by Prince-Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici (1617–1675) of the bulk of the collections assembled by the antiquary Leonardo Agostini (1593–1676). This was one of the most important acquisitions by the Medici family in the second half of the seventeenth century, and it brought different types of objects into the grand-ducal collections: medals, intaglios, cameos and ancient metal objects. Several go-betweens and experts were involved, the most important being the antiquary Ottavio Falconieri (1636–1675), Leopoldo’s agent in Rome. Recently discovered letters exchanged between Leopoldo and Falconieri shed crucial new light on the whole story.