Kussens met kroon, scepter, grondwet en rijksappel before 1898

This drawing, by Nicolaas van der Waay, depicts the crown jewels of the Netherlands in graphite on paper. These aren't traditional "art" materials – oil paint and canvas – but the humble tools of the draftsman. The artist focuses on the materiality of royal power: the heavy crown, the gilded scepter, and even the plush cushions on which these symbols of authority rest. Note the materiality of the book – the Dutch constitution – rendered with as much care as the more obviously precious items. It implies that laws, like crowns, are made things, dependent on human labor. Van der Waay’s approach is decidedly unromantic; the drawing is more like a technical study than a celebration of monarchy. By focusing on the details of these objects, he demystifies them, reminding us that even the most powerful symbols are ultimately just things, made by human hands.