History

The Museum Medal was established by Royal Decree in 1817. It is still awarded today, although its awarding statutes have changed a number of times since its inception. It was originally conferred upon individuals in recognition of donations of art collections to the Dutch monarchy. On May 5, 1877, the Medal was extended to recognise contributions to science and art collections of the state museum, and on October 28, 1919, the Medal was extended again to recognise donations to other public collections.

There are eight versions of the Bronze Medal that differ in engraving and inscription. The first version features the portrait of King William I with an obverse inscription that translates to “William I, King of the Netherlands,” and a reverse inscription that can be translated to “An Honorary Medal for the Appearance of Interest in the State Collection by Shown Donation.” The second version features the portrait of King William II with an obverse inscription that translates to “William II, King of the Netherlands,” and the same reverse inscription as the first version. The third version features the portrait of King William III with an obverse inscription that translates to “William III, King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg,” and a reverse inscription that can be translated to “For those who donate to the Dutch monarch any works of art that were collected with much effort.” These first three versions are non-wearable.

The fourth version, awarded from 1897-1918, features the portrait of Queen Wilhelmina with an obverse inscription that translates to “Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands.” The fifth version, awarded from 1918-1952, also features the portrait of Queen Wilhelmina. It has an obverse inscription that translates to “Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands.” The fifth version, awarded from 1952-1980, features the portrait of Queen Juliana and an obverse inscription that translates to “Juliana, Queen of the Netherlands.” The sixth version, awarded from 1980-2016, features the portrait of Queen Beatrix and an obverse inscription that translates to “Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands.” The current version, awarded since 2016, features the portrait of King William-Alexander and an obverse inscription that translates to “William-Alexander, King of the Netherlands.” The four most recent versions feature a reverse inscription that can be translated to “Merit Towards Public Collections.”