St. Lucasgilde van Amsterdam, gildepenning van Willem Uppink, schilder 1788

This is a brass guild badge made in Amsterdam for Willem Uppink, a painter associated with the city's Saint Luke's Guild. The medal would have been cast in a mold, with the details then chased, engraved, and finished. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, and the naturally golden color would have signaled the wealth and status of the guild. Notice the hole at the top, suggesting it was worn or displayed as a marker of professional affiliation. Guilds were deeply important social and economic structures. They regulated training, standards, and access to markets, and these badges served as physical symbols of membership and legitimacy. In this light, something as humble as a metal badge speaks volumes about the organization of labor and the visual expression of identity. The brass carries the cultural weight of history in the art world.