Alkmaar, 700 jaar Possibly 1954

This bronze medal was made in 1954 by the Koninklijke Utrechtsche Fabriek van Zilverwerken van C.J. Begeer to commemorate 700 years of Alkmaar. The medal is essentially a cast object. Molten bronze would have been poured into a mold, allowed to cool, and then the resulting form would have been refined. Bronze’s inherent properties such as its weight and color, speak to endurance, and here, historical memory. The medal would have started as a design, perhaps made by a specialist employed by the Begeer factory. We might consider the labor processes embedded in such an object: the mining of the bronze, its smelting, the making of the molds, the casting, and the finishing. The medal format also has social significance. It compresses civic pride into a precious, portable form, a token that could be given and kept. Paying attention to materials, making, and context lets us understand the medal’s full meaning. It shows us how the Begeer factory combined art, craft, and industrial processes.