Vijfentwintigjarig regeringsjubileum van Koningin Wilhelmina 1923 1923

This small gold medal, commemorating Queen Wilhelmina’s twenty-fifth year on the throne, was designed in 1923 by Johannes Cornelis Wienecke. Imagine Wienecke, carefully incising into the metal, balancing the need for clarity with the opportunity for detail. You have the crisp profile of the queen on one side, and then, on the other, an intricate, almost dreamlike image of a grand building. The building is framed by delicate swirls and rosettes, all meticulously crafted. The medal feels like a tiny painting. It's about the balance between representation and abstraction, order and chaos. Wienecke’s process of layering and refining reminds me how artists are always in conversation with each other. We see how history and the present can be embedded within the same object, and how a small gesture can carry so much weight.