Pen waarmee de oorkonden van het leggen van de gedenksteen der Oranjesluizen en van de opening van de Haven van IJmuiden zijn ondergetekend c. 1870

This is the pen with which the charters were signed for laying the foundation stone of the Oranje Locks and opening the Port of IJmuiden, made by Alexander Morton & Co. The pen commands attention with its stark contrast between the dark feather and the pale shaft. Strands of wire, like lines drawn in space, tether the pen to a small, aged tag inscribed with text. It's as if the very act of writing is suspended before us, captured mid-motion. The pen destabilizes our understanding of value. We think of the grand events it helped commemorate, the opening of waterways. Yet here, it is only a bird's feather, a fragile instrument of inscription. The monumentality of history is reduced to its humble origins. Notice how this single object embodies larger cultural and philosophical themes. It invites us to question fixed meanings and consider the semiotic power of mundane objects.