Notities, onder andere van huishoudelijke aard 1854 - 1868

These notes of a household nature were penned by Johannes Tavenraat, likely in the mid-19th century. Though seemingly mundane, even a list can be replete with symbols of its time. Take, for instance, the careful accounting, each item meticulously recorded. Such diligence mirrors the broader societal values of the era, an almost obsessive need for order amidst burgeoning industrial change. Consider how this careful record echoes across time, reminiscent of ancient Roman bookkeeping. The act of writing itself becomes a potent symbol. From cuneiform tablets to Tavenraat's script, writing has always been an assertion of control, a method to defy the ephemeral nature of existence. Here, we glimpse the psyche of a household, and how anxieties about the self and the world converge in the humble act of writing. This list, like a carefully constructed spell, is a bulwark against chaos, a desire to anchor oneself in the shifting sands of time.