NV Gemeenschappelijke Mijnbouwmaatschappij Billiton 1946-1947

This cast bronze medal was created by J.Ph. van Zegveld in the years following the Second World War. Its design is not oriented toward artistic expression, but rather toward the commemoration of an organization. On one side, we see the mining structures of the NV Gemeenschappelijke Mijnbouwmaatschappij Billiton, a Dutch mining company with operations in present-day Indonesia. On the other side, an arm raises a torch above a shield. These are emblems, celebrating the company's industrial activities. Consider the labor involved in extracting resources like tin, and the social and political context of postwar reconstruction in Southeast Asia. Such medals are often seen as minor historical artifacts, but they are, in fact, important documents of social history. We can read them for information about trade, politics, and the ways in which industry represents itself. They give a window into a world where art, craft, and industry overlap.