Penning over de Vrede van Munster

About this artwork

Penning geslagen door de stad Emden.

Art Historical Context

This striking silver medal, created by medallist Johann Blum in 1648, commemorates the Peace of Münster—one of the treaties that formed the Peace of Westphalia. Measuring just under 6 centimetres across and weighing 26.5 grams, the piece was officially struck by the city of Emden to mark the formal end of the Eighty Years’ War between Spain and the Dutch Republic. Such medals served both as keepsakes and as portable declarations of civic pride, distributed to dignitaries and citizens alike. Blum’s work exemplifies the refined technique of die-striking, in which a design is hammered into metal with precise, repeatable detail. The compact format allowed intricate imagery—typically allegorical figures of peace, civic coats of arms, or celebratory inscriptions—to be captured in a durable, portable object. Produced at the very moment the long conflict concluded, the medal stands as a tangible witness to Emden’s place within the wider European settlement that reshaped political boundaries and religious freedoms for generations.