Medal to commemorate Michiel de Ruyter (reverse)
Silver, 7.1 cm, by Christoffel Adolphi, 1676
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

This commemorative medal was designed to mark the funeral of Admiral de Ruyter on 18 March 1677. The obverse bears a portrait of the admiral, the reverse an image of a naval battle. Joachim Oudaen wrote a poem to commemorate De Ruyter’s death, which ends with the line ‘He colours his laurels with his blood’. De Ruyter was thus a true hero. Both examples of the medal come from the De Ruyter family.


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