As mulheres e a memória numismática brasileira: As representações de Joana Angélica, Maria Felipa e Maria Quitéria na Medalha do Bicentenário da Independência da Bahia

Abstract

This research analyzes the representations of Maria Quitéria, Maria Felipa, and Joana Angélica on the medal Women and Independence – Heroines of Freedom, commemorating the Bicentennial of the Independence of Bahia. It seeks to identify how the object of study is represented and reflected in the materiality of the piece and the historical facts that support it. The representation of women can echo what a group wishes to communicate to the public about a particular person or event—often favoring figures of power deemed important by a select group. As a result, their faces have appeared on various commemorative medals, most of which depict more men than women. In this context, the study proposes to identify the representations of Joana Angélica, Maria Felipa, and Maria Quitéria, historically contextualizing the creation of the medal within the scope of the commemorations, and analyzing how it contributes to the construction of conceptions about these three women. A qualitative methodology was chosen, through theoretical review based on the reading of books and articles on Numismatics, iconography, and the personalities involved, highlighting women and how they were represented through symbols and expressions; and documentary research through catalogs, websites, articles, and podcasts, as well as an iconographic analysis built upon the aspects presented on the medal. The representations align with how the historical facts were contextualized, revealing coinages where men are often more prominently depicted than women, although other themes may prevail. The research traverses the concepts and branches of Numismatics, collecting practices, and proceeds to the records of women within these fields, along with the histories tied to the three figures that contributed to shaping their representations.