Untitled 1869 - 1874

This is a stereograph made by Jeremiah Gurney and Son in New York, sometime in the mid-19th century. The woman's attire is rich with symbols, none more prevalent than the cross that hangs suspended from her neck. The cross, a symbol of profound religious significance, is seen in ancient Egypt as the Ankh, a symbol of eternal life, and then adopted by Christianity, evolves into a representation of sacrifice and redemption. Notice how, in the Early Renaissance, artists like Jan van Eyck subtly integrate the cross into jewelry, embedding spiritual meaning within the secular. This photograph captures a moment in that evolution. Here, the cross is a display of piety, yet also functions as an adornment—a blurring of the sacred and the worldly. This tension is a recurring theme in art, reflecting humanity's ongoing dialogue between spiritual devotion and material existence. The symbols never truly disappear; they resurface, transformed by time and culture, in an endless dance of meaning.