Keeshondje, draagteken ter ere van Hendrik Danielsz. Hooft, burgemeester van Amsterdam 1787

This small silver badge, now in the Rijksmuseum, commemorates Hendrik Danielsz. Hooft, a 17th-century mayor of Amsterdam. The badge is divided into two sides. One side depicts Hooft in profile, sporting the elaborate wig and formal attire befitting his status. The other side features a keeshond, a breed of dog closely associated with Dutch patriotism and the rising merchant class during this era. The keeshond had become a symbol of the common man, and, by extension, of opposition to the aristocratic elite. Consider the context: Amsterdam was a city of burgeoning trade and complex social dynamics. The image of the keeshond, then, subtly positions Hooft as a man of the people, a leader attuned to the values and aspirations of Amsterdam's growing middle class. Historical research, especially into the symbolic language of the Dutch Golden Age, illuminates the way art operates within specific social and institutional settings.