Penning over het eerste eeuwfeest van de Vrede van Munster
Medium
striking (metalworking)
Dimensions
78.58; 6.1
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Zilveren penning. Voorzijde: zegeteken met opschrift en slangerond met daarin drie borstbeelden, bekroond met vrijheidshoed, bijbel en pijlenbundel; aan weerszijden vaandels; voor opschrift twee afgehakte hoofden; aan voet van zegeteken vertrapt Hollandse leeuw juk, boeien, martelwerkruigen en bord met opschrift INQVISITIO binnen omschrift. Keerzijde: altaar beschenen door hemellicht, waarop Willem IV met slangerond in hand offer verricht; op basis opschrift, waarboven zeven wapenschilden hangen...
Art Historical Context
### Commemorative Medal for the Peace of Münster Centenary Crafted in 1748 by Dutch medalist Martinus Holhey, this struck silver medal (6.1 cm diameter, 78.58 grams) the first centenary of the Peace of Münster, signed in 1648 to end the Eighty Years' and secure Dutch independence from Spanish rule. Holtzhey, known for his intricate engravings, employs the medal's dual-sided format—a hallmark of 18th-century numismatic art—to vividly contrast oppression and triumph. The obverse depicts a towering victory emblem encircled by a snake (symbolizing eternity), featuring three busts crowned with a liberty cap, Bible, and arrows of unity. Flanking banners, severed heads, and a trampled Dutch lion amid chains, yokes, torture tools, and an "INQVISITIO" plaque evoke the tyranny of Spanish Inquisition and Catholic persecution, rallying Dutch Protestant pride. The reverse shifts to hope: a heavenly-lit altar where William IV, Prince of Orange and newly restored Stadtholder (1747), offers a snake-ringed pledge. Seven coats of arms hang above, pillars bear a flaming Bible and liberty cap vanishing into clouds, and a throng encircles the scene—affirming national renewal amid 1740s unrest. Struck medals like this, blending allegory and heraldry, were prized collectibles, disseminating political symbolism to the public and immortalizing pivotal moments in Dutch history. A testament to resilience, it invites us to reflect on liberty's hard-won legacy.