Ring van ijzer van de kanonneerboot No.2 van J.C.J. van Speyk after 1831

This iron ring, made by an anonymous artisan, memorializes Jan van Speyk's dramatic act of self-immolation. The ring’s very form—rigid, cold iron—establishes a stark, unyielding presence. The octagonal face and the engraved name disrupt its otherwise plain circular form. The material is heavy with symbolic weight, a fragment from the wreckage of a national tragedy turned into a relic. The cool tones of the metal and the simple, almost brutalist shape reflect the solemnity of its origin. The inscription marks it not just as metal but as a sign, an index of a complex historical narrative. How does this ring serve as a cultural artifact, transforming personal sacrifice into a collective symbol of national identity and heroism? It does not merely represent history; it embodies it. The Ring van Speyk invites us to consider how objects can function as powerful carriers of memory and myth.