Vrede van Baden

About this artwork

diameter 4,4 cm x gewicht 29,14 gr

Art Historical Context

**Vrede van Baden (Peace of Baden)** *Georg Wilhelm Vestner, 4* *Struck medal: diameter 4.4 cm, weight 29.14 g* Step into the world of 18th-century diplomacy with Georg Wilhelm Vestner's exquisite struck medal, *Vrede van Baden*, created in 1714 to commemorate a pivotal moment in European history. This small yet masterful piece of metalwork celebrates the Peace of Baden, a treaty that year between the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire.kered in the Swiss town of Baden, it concluded years of grueling conflict from the Great Turkish War, marking a hard-won victory for Christian Europe and a rare diplomatic triumph amid ongoing European power struggles. Vestner, a skilled medalist of the Baroque era, employed the striking technique—hammering a precisely engraved die onto a metal blank—to produce this finely detailed artifact. At just 4.4 cm in diameter and weighing 29.14 grams, its compact silver or gold-alloy form belies the technical prowess required: intricate reliefs likely depict allegorical figures of peace, imperial emblems, or key protagonists like Emperor Charles VI. Medals like this were prized as portable propaganda, distributed to nobility and collectors to immortalize events and glorify rulers. Today, *Vrede van Baden* offers a tangible link to an age of treaties and triumphs, reminding us how art captured the fragile hope of peace in turbulent times. A true gem for history enthusiasts!

About the Artist

Georg Wilhelm Vestner · 1677–1740

German, Schweinfurth 1677–1740 Nuremberg