Nederlands familiealbum met 68 foto's 1860 - 1920

This is a Dutch family album with 68 photos. On the cover, we see a profile of a woman adorned with roses, emblems of love and beauty since antiquity. The roses she carries echo symbols of Venus, Roman goddess of love, often depicted with roses, an attribute adopted from the Greek Aphrodite. In early Christian symbolism, the rose, initially associated with pagan deities, was reinterpreted as a symbol of Mary, the rose without thorns, signifying her purity. This conflation highlights a fascinating cultural syncretism, where pagan symbols are absorbed and transformed. The act of giving roses, particularly to a woman, carries a weight of emotional expression, echoing gestures found in Renaissance paintings where flowers signify virtue, beauty, and affection. This traces back to ancient rituals, where floral offerings were commonplace in honoring gods and goddesses, a tradition repurposed over centuries to convey personal sentiments. The rose motif, therefore, is not merely decorative but a rich repository of collective memory, resonating with themes of love, purity, and the cyclical nature of cultural symbols.