Vingerdoek van linnendamast met dessin Marguerite c. 1904

This linen napkin, a "Vingerdoek van linnendamast met dessin Marguerite," by Cornelis van der Sluys, presents us with the daisy motif, a symbol steeped in layers of meaning. The daisy, or Marguerite, resonates with innocence and purity, often associated with the Virgin Mary herself, and a sense of simple beauty. Yet, the daisy's journey through time reveals its transformations. In earlier Renaissance portraits, holding a daisy could symbolize humility, but also carried connotations of romantic love and remembrance. Observe how the daisy motif is styled in an almost geometric, stylized manner. This abstraction speaks to the deeper, often subconscious desire to impose order and beauty on the natural world. This desire is itself a thread that runs through centuries of artistic expression, echoing in ancient Egyptian friezes, or the stylized flora of Islamic art. The daisy, therefore, is not merely a flower, but a vessel—filled with our hopes, our memories, and our enduring quest for beauty.