Covered bowl with powder blue and river landscapes c. 1700 - 1720

This covered bowl, with powder blue and river landscapes, is currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Note the landscapes, rendered within the fan-shaped panels on the bowl and its lid. These are not mere decorations; they are visual echoes of a deep-seated yearning for harmony and connection with the natural world. This can be seen across cultures, such as in the landscapes of the Dutch Golden Age. Consider the mountain motifs: symbols of stability and refuge. These are universal longings reflected in art. Mountains recur throughout time, from the backdrop of the Mona Lisa to the Romantic landscapes of Caspar David Friedrich. Through such symbols, we see how human emotions and our relationship with nature resurface again and again, reinvented with each telling. This bowl is not merely a container but a vessel carrying collective memories and cultural continuity.