Ontwerp voor In Holland staat een Huis: silhouet van een dienstmeid 1884 - 1917

Nelly Bodenheim created this silhouette of a maid, a design for "In Holland staat een Huis." Here, the broom takes center stage. It's not merely an object for cleaning; it's a symbol of domestic order, of the daily rituals that structure our lives. Think back to the ancient world, to the Vestal Virgins who tended the sacred flame, their brooms ensuring the sanctity of the hearth. Now, consider its echo in the witch's broom, a tool of transgression, of nightly flights into the realm of the forbidden. In Bodenheim's image, the broom is upright, almost like a scepter, it suggests a reclaiming of domestic space, a subtle assertion of power within the home. What we see here is the cyclical nature of symbols. They never truly disappear, they are merely transformed, waiting to be rediscovered and reinterpreted by future generations.