IX Purgat et ornat 1614

Editor: This engraving from 1614, "IX Purgat et ornat" by Roemer Visscher, shows a comb-like image with the same Latin phrase printed on the right side and in the header of the text on the left. It seems straightforward, almost like an emblem. What’s your interpretation of the imagery here? Curator: It's intriguing, isn’t it? Notice how the comb sits above what looks like land? In emblem books, everyday objects take on a symbolic life. The comb here, paired with the Latin "Purgat et Ornat"—it cleans and adorns—speaks to a deeper societal function. Editor: So, it’s not just a comb. What might it represent in this context? Curator: Consider the period, the Dutch Golden Age, rife with societal change. The text alludes to a high officer using a comb to cleanse the land. It suggests a metaphor for the need for justice. Ask yourself, how do laws, like the teeth of a comb, separate the good from the bad, cleansing society while simultaneously adorning it through order and prosperity? Editor: That makes a lot of sense. The sharp, clear lines of the engraving mirror the sharp application of justice. Is that fair? Curator: Absolutely. And don’t overlook the dual meaning: "purgat" suggests cleansing, purging the undesirable elements, while "ornat" hints at beautification, presenting a well-ordered, appealing society. This duality underscores a society's aspiration for order, filtered through the visual and the symbolic. Does that emphasis on order, or the way things should be, come across for you? Editor: Yes, definitely. I hadn't considered the societal implications, focusing more on the simple image. Thanks, this makes the engraving so much richer. Curator: Indeed. Symbols operate on many levels. Reflecting on those can be particularly revealing about what societies value and what they fear.