Design for the Base of a Crucifix, Plate 3 from: 'Neü inventierte Crucifix= Stöcke' 1745 - 1755

This is Jacob Gottlieb Thelot's design for the base of a crucifix, an etching featuring rich ornamentation intended for a sacred object. The serpent here, coiled around the base, immediately strikes the eye. Since antiquity, the serpent has been a multivalent symbol, often connected with primal energy and chaos. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, it is, of course, the tempter in the Garden of Eden, thus linked to the fall of humankind and the introduction of sin. The placement of the serpent at the base could be intended to represent the foundational struggle between good and evil, which the crucifix transcends. Consider also the ouroboros, the serpent eating its tail. It is an ancient emblem of cyclical renewal, that appears in Egyptian and Greek imagery. The Christian crucifix, too, speaks to a cycle: sacrifice, death, and resurrection. This visual vocabulary transcends epochs; it resurfaces, transforms, yet remains anchored to our collective unconscious. The image engages us on a subconscious level, a potent and endlessly evolving symbol.