Schutblad uit een band met 17 bladen met tekeningen van juwelen c. 1800 - 1810

Here is the audio guide script for the artwork provided: This cover page by Carl Friedrich Bärthel features his name elegantly calligraphed, accompanied by a prominent spiral. The spiral, a motif stretching back to ancient times, embodies growth, expansion, and the cyclical nature of life. Consider the labyrinth of Crete, a complex, spiraling structure designed to contain the Minotaur. This mythical maze mirrors our own psychological landscapes, reflecting the convoluted paths of the human mind and our quest for self-discovery. The spiral appears again and again in different forms. Think of a snake biting its own tail, a symbol known as the Ouroboros, used in Ancient Egypt and Greece to represent the eternal return and the unity of the beginning and end. Such imagery taps into the collective unconscious, resonating with our deepest fears and aspirations. The spiral's enduring presence reminds us that symbols are never truly lost; they resurface, transformed and imbued with new meaning, in the ever-turning gyre of history.