Legering van Haarlemse schutters te Hasselt 1623

This is a silver medal created by Willem van Bylaer in 1622. The coin's circular form, with its precise inscriptions and detailed imagery, speaks to the cultural and political significance of the event it commemorates. Notice how the composition is structured around the contrasting elements of text and image. One side features a panoramic view of Hasselt, complete with its skyline, while the reverse is dominated by dense, blocky lettering detailing the occasion and individuals involved. The lines of text and architecture create a semiotic system, where each element functions as a signifier. The choice of silver, with its reflective surface, enhances the medal's preciousness and its function as a symbol of civic pride and commemoration. The medal's tactile quality, its weight and texture, invite a haptic engagement that goes beyond the visual. The juxtaposition of image and text, and the material itself, prompt us to consider how meaning is constructed through both visual and material means.