Head- or Tail-piece c. 16th century

Curator: This is an interesting little emblem called "Head- or Tail-piece," created by an anonymous artist and residing here at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a small, square format. Editor: Oh, it’s like a tiny, intense garden gate. Sort of stern, but also playful, like a grumpy cherub is trying to sell me flowers. Curator: The symmetry is striking. The cherubic figure at the center is flanked by what appears to be stylized foliage and some decorative flourishes, perhaps to represent fertility. Editor: I feel a sense of contained energy, it's a compressed visual statement. It’s like a tiny, decorative explosion in monochrome. Curator: Indeed. It’s a concise encapsulation of symbolic meaning, a memory that continues to echo through time. Editor: I can see that. It makes me think about how much stories we can fit inside of an ornament.