Cartouche 1700 - 1800

This drawing, a ‘Cartouche’, was made with pen and brown ink, and brown wash. It now lives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We don’t know the artist’s name, but they would have been working in a European context. Cartouches were very popular in the 17th and 18th centuries as decorative frames around inscriptions or coats of arms. Consider the labor and social hierarchies embedded in its creation and use. In a world of inherited power, cartouches were often commissioned by the elite to assert their identity, family history, and status. As such, this drawing has ties to representation, social position, and the politics of display. Yet, this particular cartouche remains empty. It begs the question: what narratives are missing from historical records and whose stories are left untold? Though unsigned, its existence speaks to a cultural moment steeped in privilege, power, and perhaps, a yearning for remembrance.