Knights of the Golden Fleece

Group show at Museum Hof van Busleyden, Mechelen, 2024

The stars of this exhibition are the 29 coats of arms of the Golden Fleece, which were specially made for the Gothic choir in the then Saint Rumbold’s church in Mechelen, to mark the opening celebration of the fifteenth chapter in 1491. The fifteenth-century escutcheons have been very carefully restored in recent years. In this exhibition, the full series can be admired for the first time at close quarters.

In addition, curator Hannah Iterbeke (Museum Hof van Busleyden) and guest curator Magali Elali (The Constant Now) have selected another eighty artworks and objects from various time periods for this exhibition. These pieces are designed to challenge visitors to doubt their assumptions and ask questions.

The exhibition seeks in this way to offer a critical outlook on the image and mythology around the Order of the Golden Fleece and to place historical concepts and symbols in a new perspective. How does the PR machine of the Burgundian dukes work? How do they employ magnificent tapestries, banquets and tournaments to enhance their power? What do identity and ‘belonging’ actually mean to them? These questions not only invite visitors to unravel the myth of the Order of the Golden Fleece, but bring currency and relevancy to the story. For, just like the Burgundian dukes of the past, a contemporary international organisation like the European Union is constantly looking for ways to create unity and solidarity.

Text by Museum Hof van Busleyden