Rode Kruis, penning uitgereikt aan alle Nederlandse Rode Kruis-leden, die tijdens de Frans-Pruisische oorlog in Frankrijk werkzaam waren 1870

Curator: Looking at this circular medal, it's difficult not to notice its stark symbolism right away, isn't it? Editor: Absolutely. It projects this solemn and somewhat severe aura. All of the engraved details and aged bronze give off a palpable sense of history, almost weighty, if that makes sense? Curator: Indeed. This object is a medal from 1870 awarded to all Dutch Red Cross members active in France during the Franco-Prussian War. Its designer was Salomon de Vries. Given the baroque influence apparent in the details, its appeal is understandable. Editor: Baroque! Tell me more— I’m clearly stuck on the mood and missing all this. Curator: Look at the layering of imagery. The central emblem features the Red Cross flag, encircled by the words "VOOR BELANGEN DER MENSCHHEID," For the benefit of mankind. On the reverse, the Dutch coat of arms takes center stage. Editor: It is striking how formalized and symmetrical the arrangement of elements is. This perfect centering lends the object a very strong air of authority, or institutional confidence. It's the symbolic language of established power. Curator: I find myself pondering about the individuals who were granted it—the weight they attached to it both literally and figuratively, recognizing they performed critical aid in traumatic circumstances. What sentiments do you imagine the wearer felt? Editor: Perhaps conflicted? Given its association with conflict and care, joy or grief. But for all those complex emotions, this medal now feels strangely like an appeal from history—to learn to value our humanity above conflict. Curator: An earnest plea embedded in this compact circle, so artfully and meaningfully cast in bronze. I appreciate you framing it like that!