Wapenschild van Dalarna 1696

This is an engraving of the coat-of-arms for the province of Dalarna in Sweden, made at an unknown date by an anonymous artist. The image deploys a visual language of power and nobility, with its heraldic shield, crown, spears, and decorative foliage. Coats-of-arms served an important social function in pre-modern Europe. They were emblems of family identity that were used to signify status and legitimacy. It is possible that this image reflects a particular moment in the institutional history of Sweden. Perhaps it marks a moment of political change, when the traditional social order was being renegotiated. But for me, what's most interesting about images like this is that they can tell us a great deal about the cultural and social context in which they were produced and consumed. By digging into archives and libraries, we can reconstruct the intricate web of meanings that these images once held.