Roei-, steiger- en schuitenvoerdersgilde van Amsterdam, gildepenning van Dierk Hartgers, ligplaats Nieuwe Brug 1745

Editor: Here we have a guild badge from 1745 belonging to Dierk Hartgers of the Amsterdam rowing, stevedoring, and bargemen's guild. It's made of metal and features engraving on both sides. What I find striking is how such everyday labor is represented with such care. How do you read this piece? Curator: Well, from a historical perspective, it’s interesting to consider the social standing and collective identity of guilds like this. Badges like these weren’t just decorative; they were potent symbols of belonging and status in Amsterdam’s economic structure. Who do you think was this intended audience? Editor: Perhaps to those in the guild or merchants with ties to the river economy? The visuals are incredibly illustrative – you immediately see the boat and equate it to labor on the water. Curator: Precisely! It projects the guild's role within the broader commercial context of 18th-century Amsterdam. Consider where something like this would be worn or displayed, reinforcing guild power structures within daily life. Also, look at the craftsmanship, its intention for lasting. Who do you think the symbol on the opposite side speaks to? Editor: Hmm, that would be Hartgers within the New Bridge mooring location. What this represents, then, isn’t simply a name and profession, but how this man specifically contributes to the power of the whole. Curator: Absolutely! And the choice of material, metal, indicates longevity, reinforcing that guilds were lasting institutions of political clout. Seeing it like this, it challenges any simplistic ideas we may have of "decorative elements" in art, don’t you think? Editor: I completely agree! I assumed a craft guild, and hadn't connected this badge as evidence for sustained political influence over time. It gives me new appreciation for studying seemingly ordinary objects!