Certificate in Case

Willem III (koning der Nederlanden) (signed by artist), 1865

Document van koning Willem III in koker en foedraal over de acties van de Medusa in 1863. Diploma in koker en roodfluwelen foedraal.

  • Artwork typecase, case, document, diploma
  • Object numberNG-MC-1889-17
  • Dimensionscertificate: height 72.9 cm x width 40.8 cm, container: length 44 cm x diameter 8.4 cm, outer case: length 46.8 cm x diameter 11.5 cm
  • Physical characteristicspaper, gilt silver, wood, copper, velvet and silk

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Certificate in Case

  • Object type

  • Object number

    NG-MC-1889-17

  • Description

    Document van koning Willem III in koker en foedraal over de acties van de Medusa in 1863. Diploma in koker en roodfluwelen foedraal.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    • inscription, on the case: ‘P MERYER te 's HAGE’
    • inscription, on the certificate: ‘MEDUSA’

  • Part of catalogue

Creation

  • Creation

    • commissioner (person who orders works): Willem III (koning der Nederlanden) (signed by artist), The Hague
    • maker: P. Meyer (mentioned on object), The Hague

  • Dating

    1865

  • Search further with

Material and technique

  • Physical description

    paper, gilt silver, wood, copper, velvet and silk

  • Dimensions

    • certificate: height 72.9 cm x width 40.8 cm
    • container: length 44 cm x diameter 8.4 cm
    • outer case: length 46.8 cm x diameter 11.5 cm

Explanatory note

  • Verlucht document waarin Willem III getuigt van zijn tevredenheid over de acties van de Medusa in Japan in 1863, waarin hij aangeeft hoe de overdracht van de vlag en het diploma door de gouverneur-generaal van Oost-Indië dient te gebeuren, en eindigend met een volledige equipagelijst van het schip. De verguld zilveren koker is versierd met twee gekroonde kruisen van de Militaire Willemsorde, en op de dop het Rijkswapen. Het geheel wordt bewaard in een houten foedraal, bekleed met rood fluweel en zijde. Dit diploma werd samen met de vlag (NG-MC-1889-85B) in 1865 door koning Willem III aan de korvet met stoomvermogen van 10 stukken Medusa (Amsterdam 1852-1854, lang 51.5 m, afgevoerd in 1866) aangeboden in waardering voor haar aandeel in de forcering van de Straat van Simonoseki, waarbij het schip deel uitmaakte van een internationale strafexpeditie tegen de Prins van Nagato.

This work is about

  • Person

  • Subject

  • Place

  • Period

    1863

Acquisition and rights

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    …; presented by King Willem III der Nederlanden (1817-1890) to Zr.Ms. Medusa, 1865;{According to the certificate.} transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1889

Documentation

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  • Certificate in Case
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  • Certificate in Case
  • Certificate in Case
  • Certificate in Case

Willem III (koning der Nederlanden)

Certificate in Case

The Hague, The Hague, 1865

Inscriptions

  • inscription, on the certificate:MEDUSA
  • inscription, on the case:P MERYER te 's HAGE

Provenance

…; presented by King Willem III der Nederlanden (1817-1890) to Zr.Ms. Medusa, 1865;1According to the certificate. transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1889

Object number: NG-MC-1889-17

Entry

Illuminated document in which King William III expresses his satisfaction concerning the actions of the Medusa in Japan in 1863 and 1864, specifying the ceremony with which flag and certificate should be handed over to the ship by the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies, and ending with a complete list of the ship’s crew. The gilt silver container is decorated with two crowned insignia of the ‘Militaire Willems Orde’ and the coat of arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the top of the lid. The whole is kept in a wooden case lined with red velvet and silk.

This certificate was presented together with a flag (NG-MC-1889-85-2) to the 10-gun sloop of war Medusa (Amsterdam 1852-54, 51.5 metres long, decommissioned 1866) by King William III of the Netherlands in appreciation of its role in freeing the passage of the Strait of Shimonoseki in Japan in 1864. Taking part in an international expedition this ship helped to break the opposition of the Prince of Nagato.

Literature

H. Stevens (ed.), The Art of Technology: The Navy Model Collection in the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam/Wormer 1995, p. 57; A.A. Lemmers and G. Boven, Nederland en Japan. Bijzondere betrekkingen 1600-1868, Den Helder 2000, pp. 22, 26-28; J. de Hond and M. Fitski, A Narrow Bridge: Japan and the Netherlands from 1600, Amsterdam 2016 (also published in Dutch as De smalle brug. Japan en Nederland sinds 1600), pp. 144-63

Citation

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'Willem III (koning der Nederlanden), Certificate in Case, The Hague, 1865', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/20054289

(accessed 29 oktober 2026 00:29:01 UTC+0).

Footnotes

  • 1According to the certificate.