Korendragers- en -stortersgilde van Amsterdam, gildepenning van Henderick Eldersen van Amsterdam 1683

Editor: This is a fascinating object, an engraved metal guild token from 1683, belonging to Henderick Eldersen of Amsterdam, representing the 'Korendragers', the grain carriers guild. It feels so humble in its form, and yet it also carries a profound symbolic weight, doesn't it? What images stand out to you, Professor? Curator: The figure, burdened with grain, stands out immediately. Consider this single image, etched into metal; it speaks to a whole culture surrounding work, community, and identity. It is fascinating to observe how such a mundane activity gains such prominence. Why do you think the guild chose this particular figure as their emblem? Editor: Perhaps to celebrate the labour and the workers that bring grain to the city, which suggests a value the community placed on the people that physically moved this food. What I'm not sure of is how exactly such imagery functioned at the time? Curator: Guild tokens like these served multiple functions. They acted as proof of membership, allowing access to rights and privileges within the guild. But more than that, they reinforced social hierarchies and trade relations, cementing group solidarity, wouldn't you say? Each guild had its emblem, visually representing itself to others. In some sense, such tokens acted as primitive business cards of sorts. The grain carrier, year after year, reminding all who saw it of their shared identity. It’s a cultural artifact, linking manual labor with collective identity. Editor: So it’s about how daily labor, the most mundane actions, were linked with one’s identity? I didn't think of that, that images from so long ago can also tell us so much about cultural values. Curator: Precisely. That enduring connection, expressed through such humble form and emblem.