Overlijden van de hertog van Wellington, overwinnaar in de slag bij Waterloo 1852

Curator: This coin, "Overlijden van de hertog van Wellington, overwinnaar in de slag bij Waterloo", or "Death of the Duke of Wellington, Victor of the Battle of Waterloo," crafted around 1852, offers a somber reflection. The artist is listed as Allen & Moore. Initially, what strikes you about this memorial in silver? Editor: Its chilliness. The stark silver, the restrained classical profile… it feels designed to instill reverence, or perhaps to quietly celebrate imperial power as much as mourn a man. Curator: Exactly! Consider the sharp lines, the cold metal. The obverse depicts Wellington in profile, meticulously detailed in dress uniform. This precision, this insistence on the clear depiction of form, screams Neoclassicism, with its emphasis on order and reason. Semiotics offers insight, with his gaze purposefully set on some point in the far distance. Editor: And what exactly was the price of that reason and order for those who felt the boot of the British Empire? Look at the reverse, those flags. “He subdued India and liberated Europe,” the text proclaims. Who writes that history? It champions a colonial narrative in the face of centuries of subjugation and extracted wealth. Curator: Indeed, this memorial wasn’t created in a vacuum. Its function extends beyond personal grief, placing him squarely within a national, even imperial, narrative. Note the visual symbolism, the strategic use of the laurel wreath placed with a collection of ships, a shorthand for the Duke’s legacy. Editor: Yes, symbols strategically employed to justify political and military dominance. The sheer lack of introspection about the cost of "liberation" is chilling. The visual language sanitizes violence into neat emblems of victory. How might marginalized voices who bore witness to the actual cost respond to such cold pronouncements cast in silver? Curator: So, what are we left with? An object whose artistry is undeniable but whose message must be viewed through multiple critical lenses. Editor: Precisely. A memento mori that serves as a potent reminder: even in death, the powerful shape the narrative. Perhaps this coin reminds us to question whose story is told.