Vijftigjarig doctoraat van Gerardus Vrolik, hoogleraar te Amsterdam 1846 1846

This bronze medal was created by Johannes Petrus Schouberg in 1846 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Gerardus Vrolik's doctorate at the University of Amsterdam. Medals such as this one served as important historical documents, reflecting the values and achievements celebrated by Dutch society at the time. The medal features a portrait of Vrolik, a distinguished professor, emphasizing his intellectual status and contributions to the academic community. The choice of bronze as a medium is significant, lending the piece a sense of permanence and importance. The inscriptions, in Latin, further underscore the academic and intellectual context of the commemoration. Produced during a time of increasing national pride and institutional development in the Netherlands, the medal represents a moment of institutional self-regard. To understand this object fully, we can consult university archives, biographical records, and studies of Dutch intellectual history. The medal thus becomes a lens through which to examine the intersections of education, social status, and cultural values in 19th-century Netherlands.