Cartouche met leeuwenkoppen 1648 - 1692

Albert Flamen created this delicately etched cartouche with lion heads sometime in the 17th century. Flamen lived in a time when European society was steeped in rigid social hierarchies. The lion, often associated with royalty, power and courage, served as a potent symbol of status. In Flamen's print, the two symmetrical lions dominate the upper portion of the cartouche, and might signal the importance of heraldry and noble lineage in 17th-century European culture. The blank space within the decorative border is suggestive, as it invites the insertion of a name, a title, or an emblem of personal significance. What kind of stories might emerge if we subvert this traditional image? What alternative narratives might we create by inscribing new meanings within its frame, perhaps with symbols of resistance, or expressions of marginalized voices? This cartouche becomes a stage for re-imagining identity.