A22: Virginia Dining Room, c. 1752 c. 1940

This is Narcissa Niblack Thorne's miniature recreation of a Virginia Dining Room, circa 1752. The room's architecture and decor, particularly the ornate plasterwork on the ceiling, teem with symbolic weight. The circular motifs, echoed in the ceiling’s medallions and the round table below, invoke ideas of unity and eternity. This symbol resonates across cultures, from ancient sun worship to Renaissance ideals of perfection, continuously reappearing to signal wholeness. Here, within the domestic sphere, it suggests a harmonious family life, a sanctuary from the outside world. Such imagery isn't merely decorative; it is an expression of deep-seated desires. It speaks to the human need for order and stability, a subconscious longing for an ideal past. As we see these patterns repeated and reshaped across time, they mirror our enduring quest for meaning and connection, eternally present in the human psyche.