From the museum website
The Golden Age is all the rage again! And not just in Holland, but in Friesland as well. In the 17th century, Friesland was the second wealthiest province in the Republic, after Holland. The exhibition Oud Geld (Old Money) reveals who called the shots in Friesland: the ‘Quote 500’ of the Golden Age. An old boys network of extremely prosperous merchants, administrators and nobles defined the culture and the economy. Apparently, notions such as ‘nouveaux riches’ and ‘must haves’ are timeless. Oud Geld shares stories about trendsetters like Stadtholder Willem Frederik van Nassau-Dietz, forefather of our current king. Various 17th-century treasures in the museum’s collection are showcased, including the Poptaschat, iconic Frisian silver tableware; and portraits by the important Frisian painter Wybrand de Geest, which are displayed alongside their contemporary equivalents.