De geschiedenis van Nederland in 100 voorwerpen

For writing the history of Netherlands in 100 objects Gijs van der Ham has selected one hundred remarkable objects from the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam to tell the big story of the Netherlands: well-known paintings and sculptures, special jewelry, glass works, photos, medals and weaponry, even a broken shoes and a chunk of pepper. Van der Ham uses these objects as the starting point for a surprising journey through the past of the Netherlands. In one hundred stories he shows us what role these objects played through the ages, how they were used, what they say about our ancestors and their doings. In every story he highlights an important aspect of our history and by doing so Van der Ham gives us an extremely varied picture of the often rich, but sometimes confusing or painful past.

This very interesting and well-made book also shows glass objects with photos and stories of the glass bowl with ‘Geuzen’ names, a Roemer (type of wine glass) for Constantijn Huygens with diamond cut texts and decoration, the Dollhouse of Petronella Oortman with mini glassware and the diorama of a Surinamese plantation. (Wikipedia >Geuzen: French: Les Gueux, English: the Beggars, was a name assumed by the confederacy o fCalvinist Dutch nobles and other malcontents, who from 1566 opposed Spanisch rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called Watergeuzen or Sea Beggars. In theEighty Years' War, the Capture of Brielle by the Watergeuzen in 1572 provided the first foothold on land for the rebels, who would conquer the northernNetherlands and establish an independent Dutch Republic.)

Gijs van der Ham (1955) is an historian and senior curator at the History Department of the Rijksmuseum. He received his Ph.D. in 1990 and wrote ‘Zeeland 1940-1945’ and ‘200 years Rijksmuseum’ (2000). In 2007 he made the exhibition ‘Hero’ in the Nieuwe Kerk Amsterdam, about hero worship in the Netherlands. He was previously Executive of the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds.

‘De geschiedenis van Nederland in 100 voorwerpen’ (in Dutch only) appeared on April 11, 2013.
De Bezige Bij | Bound | 544 pag. | ISBN 978 90 234 7827 0 | Introduction price € 39.90, after 3 months € 49.90 | Publisher De Bezige Bij - www.debezigebij.nl