Filips V, koning van Spanje en zijn vrouw Maria Louisa Gabriela van Savoye 1702

Curator: Oh, isn’t this little medallion lovely? So subtle, and yet brimming with such grand pronouncements. I find myself feeling a peculiar sort of empathy for such tiny things tasked with conveying empires. Editor: Indeed. What we’re looking at here is a metal relief created around 1702 by Philippe (II) Roëttiers, titled "Filips V, koning van Spanje en zijn vrouw Maria Louisa Gabriela van Savoye" – a commemorative piece, essentially a tiny monument to power and matrimony. The Baroque style is evident, even in miniature. Curator: Matrimony! Like two tiny ships sailing together… towards what, exactly? The perfectly rendered coiffures are rather stunning; those cascading waves of metallic hair feel almost alive, defying the material’s inherent stillness. Is it silver, perhaps? There’s such a lunar quality to it, all muted light and shadow. Editor: The choice of metal speaks volumes. It’s meant to endure, to project permanence. The obverse depicts the conjoined profiles of Philip and Maria Louisa, regal and austere. But it's the reverse side that truly interests me. It displays clasped hands under a radiant sun, inscribed with "IMPERAT CONCORDIA"—"Concord rules." Curator: Oh, the sweet optimism! Two hands joining as celestial witness beams down… does one ever truly “rule” through concord? It sounds beautiful but ever so utopian in my ears… Perhaps, on closer inspection, those clasped hands seem to grasp a bit too tightly, don't they? As if concord itself demands a certain…force. I can´t escape from this sensation. Editor: It's precisely that tension between ideal and reality that makes the piece so compelling. The inscription serves as propaganda, asserting stability amidst the turbulent backdrop of the War of the Spanish Succession. This coin attempts to manufacture the narrative. The union, the agreement represented as divine will—but was it, really? Curator: So the art piece became a political loudspeaker? With those radiant beams feeling more like spotlights, casting long shadows of doubt and insecurity. Editor: Yes, It’s a meticulously crafted image intended to quell anxieties and project an image of unified strength. Examining it through the lens of political symbolism, it offers insight into how power legitimizes itself through carefully constructed visuals. Curator: In the end, the artistry can make a story speak, shout even, far beyond its initial purpose. All of it captured in this beautiful miniature. Editor: Indeed, revealing much about the larger world from which it was born.