Huwelijk van Leopold Lodewijk Filips Marie Victor, erfprins der Belgen en Marie-Henriette, prinses van Oostenrijk, ter ere van Leopold I, koning der Belgen 1853

Curator: I find the weathered surface quite beautiful—the subdued gray tone. It looks as if we’re examining a long-lost relic, something once clutched tightly in someone's palm, or secreted away for safekeeping. Editor: Indeed. This medal by Leopold Wiener, dating from 1853, commemorates the marriage of Leopold Louis, who was the heir apparent to the Belgian throne, to Marie Henriette, Princess of Austria. It's also made in honor of Leopold I, King of the Belgians. Curator: What's striking is the depiction. The two royal figures presented, each with that classic 19th-century formal style. I can't help but wonder, however, about the message. Are they portrayed to consolidate power? Or does the image of marital stability and strength carry different meanings related to nationhood at this time? Editor: I think it speaks to something larger than simple self-promotion, although that is naturally included. Take into consideration the medium: metal. It is an object intended to be multiplied, to be consumed. It exists as evidence of a larger machine, and its purpose wasn’t just visibility. Its existence also depends on the mining of ore, the labour and tools used to shape it into the finished artwork. Curator: A point well taken. It is fascinating to consider what labor this little disc signifies. From a feminist lens, too, this representation presents an ideal of feminine passivity against an ideal of patriarchal, almost stoic, masculinity, the woman as object to be attained, traded perhaps, to reinforce dynasties. Editor: You highlight the inherent constraints of power structures in representation—the labor, material and capital is embedded within these structural processes. Curator: I concur entirely. Thinking about the social, political, and symbolic forces acting upon its creation makes this work all the more compelling and reveals broader historical and political themes in this object. Editor: It's clear there's an enormous network of material support at play with this particular artwork. The creation and dissemination of metal, as always, is inherently an operation rooted in material exchange.