Karel Willem Ferdinand, hertog van Brunswijk, penning aangeboden door de Staten van Holland en West-Friesland wegens het herstel van de orde in de Nederlanden 1787

This silver medal was created by Johann Heinrich Schepp to honor Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick. It was commissioned by the States of Holland and West Friesland. This medal celebrates the Duke's role in restoring order in the Netherlands. But what does "order" really mean here? Whose order? The late 18th century was a time of immense social and political upheaval in Europe, particularly in the Netherlands, which was experiencing the Patriot revolt. The Duke, as commander of the Stadtholder's troops, brutally repressed this democratic movement in 1787. Consider the power dynamics at play. The medal valorizes a figure who suppressed a popular uprising. The image of intertwined wreaths on the reverse symbolizes unity, but at what cost? It prompts us to think about whose voices are amplified in historical narratives, and whose are silenced. The medal is not simply a historical artifact, it is a potent reminder of how power is represented and reinforced through art.