Versierde lambrisering in Kasteel Les Amerois te Brussel before 1879

This is a photograph of ornate paneling made by Joseph Maes. The photograph captures the intricate carvings, showcasing framed emblems and vegetal motifs—visual elements that evoke status and historical memory. Notice how the emblems in the panel's center have the essence of heraldry: the visual assertion of family identity that carries a weight of lineage and cultural memory. Even the acanthus-like leaves, stylized in their presentation, echo classical motifs favored during the Renaissance, when families sought to align themselves with the glory of antiquity. Interestingly, these elements remind me of similar emblems found on Renaissance family crests, where symbols of power, virtue, and lineage were also prominently displayed. Consider how a family's desire for status and remembrance could also subtly express anxiety about their place in the world. In this sense, the emblems become a psychoanalytic symbol, perhaps hinting at both the assertion and the underlying vulnerability. The resurgence and reinterpretation of such symbols across centuries reveal a cyclical pattern: societies look to the past, selectively appropriating and reimagining symbols to anchor themselves.