Resumo:
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.
