Left Side of the Design for a Table with the Figure of a Siren 17th century

Editor: Here we have an ink and pen drawing from the 17th century, titled "Left Side of the Design for a Table with the Figure of a Siren." It's at the Met. The baroque lines give the design a lot of movement. How would you interpret the artist's decision to include a siren? Curator: The siren is such a potent image. As an iconographer, I'm struck by the way its meaning shifts and persists. In antiquity, sirens were associated with death, but by the 17th century, that image had become somewhat softened to allude to temptation, desire, the dangerous allure of the feminine. Editor: So, placing that figure in a design for something like a table is… what? A comment on luxury? Curator: Perhaps. Remember that this is a *design* as much as a drawing. The siren may be meant to signal the patron's worldliness, knowledge of classical myth. But look at the placement: holding up the table, literally *supporting* the luxuries displayed on it. Think of it like this - what aspects of ourselves and our culture are we 'displaying' or elevating? And which are literally 'supporting' or underlying that display? Editor: That’s fascinating, the siren almost becomes a commentary on the cost, or perhaps the consequence, of luxury. Thank you. Curator: My pleasure. This drawing prompts a really critical consideration: are we equally conscious of everything an image signifies, or are some elements deliberately obscured? What parts of ourselves remain hidden from view?