Plate 1725 - 1745

This plate was made by Jean-Baptiste Guillibaud in the 18th century. The floral motifs around the rim remind us of seasonal cycles and the abundance of nature. At its center, an interlaced monogram is wreathed with floral ornamentation, signaling a heraldic emblem of personal or familial identity. These symbols are powerful in connecting the domestic space to broader cultural meanings. Consider how the floral border echoes similar designs found in tapestries and textiles across various cultures, used to celebrate fertility and growth. The monogram, on the other hand, speaks to a deeply ingrained human desire to mark territory and assert identity, akin to the symbolic crests used by knightly orders of the medieval ages. The image presents not merely aesthetic decoration but, rather, encoded messages about status, lineage, and our connection to the natural world. These motifs, like cultural memory itself, resurface and evolve, carrying echoes of the past into the present.