Metselaars-, steenhouwers-, leidekkers-, loodgieters- en pompenmakersgilde van Amsterdam, gildepenning van Mattheus Jan Uurling, meester loodgieter en pompmaker 1781

This is a guild badge of Mattheus Jan Uurling, a master plumber and pump maker, likely crafted in Amsterdam around 1781. These badges were more than mere identifiers; they represented membership in powerful guilds that governed trades and crafts. The imagery on the badge tells us about Amsterdam's socio-economic structure at the time. One side shows the tools of the trade beneath a crown, symbolizing the guild's authority, and the other side features an inscription with Uurling's name and date. In 18th century Amsterdam, guilds like this controlled the quality of work, set prices, and even influenced city governance. They were exclusive institutions, reinforcing social hierarchies and economic stability. To understand this badge fully, we'd consult guild records, municipal archives, and period directories. These documents can reveal the guild's regulations, its members' social standing, and its role in Amsterdam's economy. Studying this object within its institutional and historical context illuminates the social conditions that shaped artistic and economic production in the Dutch Republic.