The Honorary Medal for Merits toward Museum Collections ( nl, Erepenning voor Verdiensten jegens Openbare Verzamelingen), also known as the Museum Medal ( nl, Museummedaille), is one of the oldest

civil decoration Civil awards and decorations are awarded to civilians for distinguished service or for eminence in a field of endeavour. Military personnel might also be eligible for services of a non-military nature. There are various forms of civil awards and d ...

s of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It was created by royal decree on 26 June 1817 by

King William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was a Prince of Orange, the King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He was the son of the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who went ...

. The decree describes the following: "Erepenning voor blijken van belangstelling in 's Rijksverzamelingen door schenking betoond" ( en, an honorary medal for appearance of interest in the state collection by donation shown). The medal is awarded in gold, silver or bronze as a token of appreciation to those who "aan hen, die enig boek- of kunstwerk, dat de vrucht van hun arbeid was, de Koning deden toekomen" ( en, for those, who donate to the Dutch monarch any works of art, that were collected with much effort). By royal decree, on 5 May 1877, eligibility for this award was extended by

King William III of the Netherlands William III (Dutch: ''Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk''; English: ''William Alexander Paul Frederick Louis''; 19 February 1817 – 23 November 1890) was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until his death in 18 ...

, with the description "aan hen, die door het aanbieden van belangrijke geschenken of op andere wijze zich verdienstelijk hebben gemaakt ten opzichte van de verschillende wetenschappelijke en kunstverzamelingen des Rijks" ( en, to those who donated important works of art to the state museums or who showed praiseworthy acts regarding the different scientific collections or art collection of the state museums). Due to this description, the medal obtained its current official name. However, since the end of the 19th century, this decoration is primarily known as the "Museum Medal". Up until 1897, the honorary medal was only a standing decoration, when

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World Wa ...

declared that the medal could be worn suspended from a ribbon. Eligibility for this award was once again extending, by Queen Wilhelmina, on 28 October 1919 with the description "verdiensten jegens gemeentelijke (openbare) verzamelingen" (English: merit towards community (public) collections). What was initially a medal for generous donors became now an official royal award for merit.

Queen Juliana of the Netherlands Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. S ...

decided by royal decree on 26 July 1952 that the shape of the medal and ribbon should be changed. The current ribbon is orange with two red lines descending down the middle. A ribbon bar is also given with the award, with a palm branch device in either gold or silver for recipients of the gold or silver versions of the medal, respectively.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husba ...

later changed the composition of the medallion, and is now depicted on the obverse of the medal.

Notable recipients

Willem, Baron van Dedem Baron Willem van Dedem, also styled as Willem, Baron van Dedem, (1929–2015) was a Dutch businessman, art collector, art historian and philanthropist. He donated artworks to the National Gallery in London, the Rijksmuseum and the Mauritshuis. A ...

- art collector *

Rudi Fuchs Rudolf Herman "Rudi" Fuchs (born 28 April 1942) is a Dutch art historian and curator. Personal life Rudolf Herman Fuchs was born on 28 April 1942 in Eindhoven in the Netherlands. He studied art history from 1967 to 1975 at Leiden University, aft ...

- Dutch art historian and former director of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam *Dollie Defesche-Bakker - widow of Pieter Defesche, a former Dutch visual artist *Rosetta C. Musaph-Andriesse - former director of the Jewish Historical Museum Amsterdam *A.W. Swaanswijk-Koek - widow of

Lucebert Lucebert (; Lubertus Jacobus Swaanswijk; 15 September 1924 – 10 May 1994) was a Dutch artist who first became known as the poet of the COBRA movement. He was born in Amsterdam in 1924. He entered the Institute for Arts and Crafts in 193 ...

, a former Dutch painter *Johan Wertheim - a Dutch sculptor *A.R. Wittop Koning - a Dutch architect Orders, decorations, and medals of the Netherlands 1817 establishments in the Netherlands Awards established in 1817 {{Netherlands-stub