Pompon bij een chapzka van 1e of 2e Regiment Lansiers, M. 1841 c. 1841 - 1849

Curator: Okay, what do you think of this photograph, "Pompon bij een chapzka van 1e of 2e Regiment Lansiers, M. 1841"? It's estimated to have been made around 1841-1849 by an anonymous photographer, and uses a mixed-media technique in conjunction with photography. Editor: It’s strangely…intimate. Isolated on this stark white background, that vibrant orange, it's almost… pulsating? Like a small, fuzzy heartbeat pinned down by that metal clip. It brings to mind childhood comforts, that feeling of having something soft to hold onto for protection. Curator: Absolutely. When considering objects of military adornment, like this pompon attached to what we think might be the "chapzka," or Polish lancer's cap, you rarely consider how "comfort" may be incorporated into military objects or into expressions of belonging to one's regiment. These highly regulated systems are actually reliant on more flexible concepts like identity, personal flair, and visual allegiance. Editor: Right. The rigid uniformity of the military juxtaposed with this… almost playful object. Do you think the choice to present the pompon so starkly, isolated as it is, perhaps gestures towards this tension? There is an undeniable fetishization here, in a psychoanalytic sense, towards small everyday objects which actually reflect entire systems of power. Curator: Precisely. It prompts one to ponder the nature of collective identity within a military unit. And I love your point about fetishization! It encourages an assessment of military practices themselves, not just as an entity but as a structure filled with all of these complex social relations, and the things, like the pompon here, which keep all these power systems alive and running. The red, its aggressive nature in this portraiture, perhaps reminds of that tension too. Editor: Yes! Like a little ember refusing to be extinguished. Or blood itself. Seeing it this way definitely challenges this glorification of militarism, no? Instead, this pompon— so innocent looking at first glance — becomes emblematic of… all that dark potential energy. Curator: A curious thought. It prompts reflection. These historical remnants sometimes speak most powerfully through quiet observation and contemplation, I suppose. Editor: Precisely! What appeared to be a small accessory may remind one about those many complex and nuanced social, material, and personal structures involved in shaping our understanding of identity, warfare, and ultimately, the everyday objects involved.