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20 years 'Flemish Masterpieces Decree'

What is valuable must be protected. That is the logic of the Flemish Masterpieces Decree. Since the creation of this decree in 2003, just about 1,000 objects and collections have been recognised and protected as masterpieces. Through decree, the government also strengthens public collections by acquiring important masterpieces.

Table with colourful inlay

The Dutchman Pierre Gole made the exceptional ceremonial table for the castle of Vincennes, as commissioned by Louis XIV himself. It is one of the most important pieces of furniture in public ownership in Belgium.

Study painting First entry of Napoleon to Antwerp

Napoleon's visit to Antwerp in 1803 was a high point for the city on the Scheldt.  Joséphine de Beauharnais, Napoleon's wife, ordered a painting to immortalise the entry. This is a preliminary sketch for that.

Sarvavid Vairocana

The 54 preserved miniatures in this series together form a visual guide for meditation on a mandala. This is a depiction of the cosmos, in this case with Sarvavid Vairocana – the most important of the five heavenly or dhyani Buddhas.

The nine contemplations

The nine contemplations on the impurity of the human body depicts how finite the human body is. Japanese monks used such series as an aid to their meditation.

‘Cask hood’ of an alembic

This ‘helmet’ is indispensable in illustrating the history of distillation in the Low Countries. In various 16th and 17th-century engravings and paintings, you can see how vapours were cooled down and converted into liquids in a helmet like this. In Belgium, we do not know a second one like this.

Guild chain of a Sint-Jorisgilde

This necklace, a guild chain, comes from a German or northern Dutch marksmen's guild with St George as its patron saint. It belongs to the so-called guild silver, with objects from the guilds' environment.

Three guild tokens

The MAS keeps an extensive and important collection of historical tokens and coins, among which these three masterpieces. They were made for the guilds or trades. These were professional and interest associations led by a dean elected by the members.

The cope of Nonnemielen

This choir hood is a luxurious robe from around 1500 and is a fine example of the so-called "opus anglicanum". It is one of the few surviving examples that ended up in Flanders. For Antwerp, the image on the choir hood is very special.

The Averbode altarpiece

In the centre of this altarpiece, those close to Christ are mourning his death, and above in miniature, we see Christ again, but alive and in the limbo of Hell. Below, each of the three women are depicting a virtue: Faith, Hope and Love. When the altarpiece is closed, you can see the tortured Christ being shown to the people on the left, and on the right, Jesus being offered a sweat cloth by Veronica.

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