Portret van een onbekende man 1860 - 1873

This photograph of an unknown man, a cabinet card, was captured by Nadar in the 19th century. The subject wears a bow tie and a chain across his waistcoat, accessories that carry the weight of bourgeois respectability. But it’s the chain dangling across the man’s vest that catches my eye. Chains, symbols of bondage, have been used as adornments since antiquity, signifying power and status. Think of the golden chains worn by Egyptian pharaohs, symbols of divine authority, or the heavy chains adorning medieval knights, each link a testament to valor. As time marches on, the chain has taken on myriad meanings, from symbols of enslavement to emblems of unity and connection. Consider the chain of office, a symbol of leadership and communal responsibility, passed down through generations. Its presence, a potent reminder of the cyclical nature of power and the collective psyche, is still a way for us to project our deepest hopes and fears.