Briefkaart aan Jan Veth before 1890

This briefkaart, or postcard, was sent to Jan Veth likely in the late 19th century. At its top left is a coat of arms crowned with a lion rampant, a heraldic symbol of authority and dominion, historically resonant through royal houses and nations. Consider how the lion, a symbol of strength and courage, appears in ancient Mesopotamian art, guarding temples, or the Lion Gate of Mycenae. Over millennia, the lion motif reappears, from medieval heraldry to modern national emblems, consistently embodying power. It's a psychoanalytic echo, resonating with primal instincts and the collective unconscious desire for strength. The crown, too, speaks of inherited authority, echoing across cultures and times. This briefkaart, seemingly a mundane item, becomes a potent reminder of how symbols persist, evolving yet carrying echoes of their past. They engage us, not just intellectually, but with an emotional intensity born from the depths of cultural memory.