Internationale Tentoonstelling te Londen 1851 1851

This silver medal was designed by W.J. Taylor to commemorate the International Exhibition held in London in 1851, a brainchild of Prince Albert. The medal embodies the ambitions and contradictions of the Victorian era. On one side, we see a profile of Prince Albert, an emblem of monarchy and masculine power. On the reverse, the British coat of arms, encircled by the words ‘Great Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations’. This declaration of unity and progress conveniently obscures the realities of British colonialism, which was built upon exploited labor and stolen resources from around the globe. These world fairs were sites of both wonder and blatant power dynamics. The ‘exotic’ displays of culture and technology from colonized nations served to reinforce Britain’s imperial dominance and cast the non-Western world as subordinate. It prompts us to reflect on how such objects can act as both celebrations of human ingenuity and stark reminders of historical injustices.