Oude en nieuwe wapen van Amsterdam 1844

Curator: Welcome. Let's discuss Johannes Hilverdink’s 1844 engraving, “Oude en nieuwe wapen van Amsterdam,” currently held in the Rijksmuseum. It presents two versions of Amsterdam’s coat of arms. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: It’s striking how clean and precise the lines are. There's an immediate sense of formality but also of something carefully, laboriously made. The two distinct images, one above the other, almost feel like contrasting eras. Curator: Exactly. The work encourages us to consider the evolving symbols of Amsterdam, embedded within specific historical periods. Below, the more recent coat of arms presents itself framed with lions. I read these emblems through a critical lens to understand the evolution of power. Consider the societal values the city sought to project then and now. Editor: And those materials would have played a role in communicating those values! Hilverdink opted for engraving, which would have enabled mass production, taking the representation of Amsterdam into countless hands. It makes me wonder who the intended consumer was. Were they town officials or merchants? Curator: Precisely! Understanding the audience enriches our understanding. We can see that class and political ideologies shaped Amsterdam, with its powerful merchant class, during this period of shifting political identities. Editor: The choice to depict the older seal as maritime, on a ship, speaks to the importance of trade to Amsterdam’s origins and ongoing material success. How interesting that they put the three crosses into the seals very early on. I see them represented in each emblem. Curator: Indeed. The three crosses, representing steadfastness, take on new meanings when situated within larger cultural conversations around nationhood. And how these symbols are consumed. Engravings like this helped construct a shared visual language tied to civic identity. Editor: These objects are often dismissed because they were widely distributed, but they reveal so much. Thinking about Hilverdink crafting this matrix and reproducing it, how the metal receives those marks…it connects directly to how Amsterdam's image was circulated and consumed, materially. Curator: The study of this print gives insight into the social implications and the circulation of its symbolic systems. Editor: Ultimately, reflecting on "Oude en nieuwe wapen van Amsterdam" shows how even seemingly simple imagery bears traces of broader social and economic relationships, etched into its very creation. Curator: And the evolving visual language of power becomes clearer, highlighting identity.