Huwelijk van Willem V met Wilhelmina Frederica Sophia van Pruisen te Berlijn, penning aangeboden aan de officieren van de schutterij van Amsterdam tijdens een vergadering in de Doelen

About this artwork

Zilveren penning. Voorzijde: borststukken van man en vrouw binnen omschrift. Keerzijde: brandend altaar, omslingerd met wijnrank, waartegen links een roer en commandostaf staan en rechts Medusaschild; daarboven twee genii ieder met in ene hand brandend hart, en linker met lauwerkrans en rechter met kroon in andere hand binnen omschrift; afsnede: opschrift

Art Historical Context

This elegant silver medal, struck in 1767 by Dutch medallist Gerrit van Moelingen, commemorates the marriage of William V, Prince of Orange, to Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia. Created as a gift for the officers of Amsterdam’s civic militia during a formal gathering at the Doelen, the piece celebrates both a royal union and the loyalty of the city’s guard. Its modest scale—just 4.4 centimetres across—made it ideal for personal presentation while carrying the weight of civic pride. The obverse shows the couple’s facing busts, a conventional portrait format that underscored their shared future. On the reverse, a burning altar entwined with vines symbolises enduring love and alliance, flanked by a musket and commander’s staff on one side and a Medusa shield on the other. Two winged genii hover above, one offering a laurel wreath and the other a crown, blending romantic, military, and dynastic imagery within a single, finely detailed composition. Van Moelingen’s precise striking technique captures every symbolic element with clarity, a hallmark of eighteenth-century Dutch commemorative medals. The work quietly links personal royal joy with the civic institutions that helped maintain order in the Dutch Republic, offering today’s visitors a small but eloquent window into the intertwined worlds of court and city in 1767.