Tweehonderdjarig bestaan van het Athenaeum te Deventer, penning geschonken door de leerlingen 1830

Curator: Look at this bronze medallion—"Tweehonderdjarig bestaan van het Athenaeum te Deventer, penning geschonken door de leerlingen." Made in 1830. Isn't it fascinating? It has all the seriousness of officialdom. Editor: Immediately, I see… iron. It is a heavy, dark thing. A bit somber for a celebration, no? Are we sure the students weren't secretly being sarcastic? Curator: Iron, yes, cast by IJzergieterij Deventer. This wasn’t mass-produced cheap metal. The iron works of the time, early industrial age... a different labor context altogether. Neoclassicism lends it this solemn dignity, and, really, reflects the high-mindedness people attributed to learning. Editor: All that neoclassical solemnity. But doesn't that language and typography just smack of order and discipline, everything regimented and taught by rote? Did these ironworks forge cannons as well as celebrations? Curator: Oh, undoubtedly. Look closely; see how they use the material itself. Not precious gold or silver to convey pomp. A more… utilitarian aesthetic, you might say. These were tokens meant for circulation, held in hand. What a contrast in scale - this diminutive size meant to communicate enormous institutional presence, a sort of self-serious wink. Editor: Utilitarian bordering on brutal, perhaps? This casting process… the social role of metal itself... This reminds us education, even "liberal" education, never exists outside the circuits of capital, industry, and labor, but it's directly entangled in these. Curator: Exactly. It also presents an important commentary on public versus private patronage. Notice the text dominating the coin face, emphasizing the bicentennial event itself. A fascinating object that compresses layers of value, labor, and legacy into this rather unforgiving materiality. Editor: So, next time I feel a bit too impressed with myself for 'knowing' something, I should pick up something heavy, dark and cold, perhaps? This celebratory yet somewhat bleak bit of bronze and iron is a very humbling reminder.