Twee zeilschepen voor anker 1797 - 1838

Here we have a sketch of two anchored sailing ships made by Johannes Christiaan Schotel, dating back to the early 19th century. Notice the ship's masts rising skyward, bisected by their horizontal yards, which immediately bring to mind the cross, an ancient symbol that long predates Christianity. We can see in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs the ankh, a symbol of life, mirroring this very cruciform. This symbol appears throughout history, often as a symbol for navigation and exploration, but also as a point of intersection for the earthly and the divine. Consider how the anchored ships, stilled by their tethers, evoke both a sense of longing for the open sea and a feeling of security in the harbor. This tension perhaps touches our subconscious with our own contradictory desires for adventure and safety, an emotional pendulum that continues to swing through the ages. These symbols are not fixed points, but rather buoys bobbing on the currents of time.