Verdediging van Brussel, penning door de stad uitgereikt aan de gewapende burgerij 1815

This silver medal, made by an anonymous artist, was given by the city to members of the armed citizenry for their role in the defense of Brussels. Medals like this one are an interesting window onto the technologies and social structures of the early 19th century. Silver has long been associated with high status and a kind of incorruptibility, but it is also relatively soft. This made it ideal for striking and stamping. The designs on both sides are crisp and legible, achieved by pressing the metal between precisely engraved dies. You can think of this process as an early form of industrialization. The medal is essentially a small-scale, portable monument, produced in multiples. Each one would have taken time to produce, and have involved skilled labor, but it is also an example of how the division of labor and economies of scale could be used to celebrate and commemorate social action. It reminds us that the very notion of "art" is bound up with systems of production and distribution.