Ter ere van de gesneuvelden in september en oktober Possibly 1830

Editor: This metal relief, titled "Ter ere van de gesneuvelden in september en oktober" or, "In honor of those fallen in September and October," and thought to be made around 1830 by Adrien Hippolyte Veyrat. The details of the engraving look so precise. How do you read the symbolism of the composition? Curator: We need to think about the materials here: metal, painstakingly engraved to produce multiples. Consider the labour, the industrial processes involved in circulating this message widely. Note the democratization of commemoration, using a medium readily reproducible compared to, say, painting or sculpture. Editor: That's fascinating. So, the choice of metal speaks to its availability and the desire for broader reach. Curator: Exactly. What social function is served by this accessible form of mourning? The pyramid on one side is itself interesting, as a Neoclassical symbol referencing permanence, inscribed with text. But that weeping willow… Do we consider its symbolism outside the social, outside the mode of production? No! It underscores the sanctioned emotional landscape that is being distributed and internalized through this commemorative object. Editor: So it is the material’s accessibility in terms of distribution, that brings it beyond being just an individual’s memorial, to a communal understanding of loss? Curator: Precisely! These objects weren’t just aesthetic experiences; they actively shaped public sentiment, memorializing not only fallen heroes, but solidifying ideals of nationhood that could be easily disseminated in 19th-century Belgium. What does this labor of commemoration do, and for whom? Editor: I hadn’t thought about it that way before, seeing it less as a passive art piece, and more as active participant of defining national identity, produced by a specific labor process. Thank you for illuminating the connections. Curator: My pleasure. Now we have a better view into what this piece really represents.