Portret van Thomas Jones c. 1678 - 1680

This is an engraving of Sir Thomas Jones, one of the Judges of the King’s Bench. Dominating the left background is a statue of Lady Justice, the very embodiment of impartiality. Consider her scales, a symbol that dates back to ancient Egypt, where the weighing of the heart against the feather of Ma’at determined one’s passage into the afterlife. Here, the scales symbolize the careful evaluation of evidence. Justice’s blindfold suggests objectivity, an ideal as elusive as it is crucial. We see this motif again and again throughout the ages, yet in the Roman tradition, she is not blindfolded. Why? Perhaps because in the collective subconscious, justice is not always blind but swayed by power. Such enduring symbols reveal our ongoing dialogue with the past, each reappearance a reinvention that speaks to our deepest fears and aspirations. The human desire for order and the fear of chaos perpetually resurface through symbols like Lady Justice. These images engage us on a profound level, linking our present to the archetypes of history, continuously adapting to the temperaments of the times.