Maximiliaan van Bergen, aartsbisschop van Kamerijk 1562

This coin depicting Maximiliaan van Bergen, Archbishop of Cambrai, was made in 1562 by an anonymous artist. Coins are always a good way of understanding the values of a society. They remind us that art is not just something in a gallery, but is deeply embedded in the economic and social life of its time. This coin was made in the Spanish Netherlands, and it tells us something about the complex politics of the time. On one side, the Archbishop’s coat of arms is shown. On the other, a snail and the words "Nec cito, nec temere", meaning "Neither fast, nor rashly." This motto may allude to the Archbishop's cautious approach to the religious conflicts of the time. Institutional records of the mint and the Archbishop’s personal papers can throw more light on the context of this work. The meaning of art is always contingent on the social and institutional context in which it was made.