The Assassination of the Brothers De Witt, 1672, gold medal, A SUPERB LARGE GOLD MEDAL CONSIGNED TO THE MARCH 27 AUCTION - [Click for Details]

Netherlands, the Assassination of the Brothers De Witt, 1672, gold medal, 182.51g., 72 mm., CORNELIVS DE WITT NAT A 1623 * IOHANNES DE WITT NAT A 1625, facing busts of Cornelius at left, cuirassed and draped, and Johan at right, wearing robes of a councilor, within leafy border and circular legend, legend and arms below, rev. a monstrous multi-headed animal attacking the recumbant bodies of the two brothers, signed AVRY.F (Forrer suppl. p.34; Scher, The Proud Republic, Dutch Medals of the Golden Age, no.39; Van Loon III 87/1), in original shagreen case, two small digs by the top of the nose of Cornelius, otherwise extremely fine, a superb example of this impressive medal and extremely rare in gold
Estimate: £6,000-8,000
This medal commemorates the brutal murders, by a well organised mob, of the de Witt brothers, in the Hague, 20 August 1672. Johan de Witt, a lawyer and active republican politician, was elected to the important position of Councilor Pensionary of Holland in 1653, at a time when the fortunes of the country were at a low ebb, with financial problems so acute that the country was on the brink of bankruptcy. He proved himself to be a statesman of great ability, and his success in both domestic and foreign affairs was instrumental in bringing the United Provinces to a peak of prosperity and strength. Under his guidance Holland signed the Treaty of Breda (1667) and formed the Triple Alliance (1668) of Holland, England and Sweden against France.
Two decades of rule however made many enemies for de Witt. In particular his Act of Seclusion (1654) which blocked the election of a Stadtholder, created a fierce opposition party led by William of Orange. Military defeat by the French turned popular opinion against de Witt. In 1672, while Johan was visiting his brother Cornelius who was in prison on trumped up political charges, a mob, which included respectable citizens and Civic Guards, beat the two brothers to death, mutilated their bodies, and hung them up for public view. The episode is recorded, 'with melancholy veracity' (Scher) in a painting now in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, attributed to Jan de Baen. William of Orange was duly elected Stadtholder, and eventually became King William III of England