Kvinde fra Firenze (Bourgeoise Florentine avec une petite Coëffe) 1760s

François Auguste Moitte etched this image, Kvinde fra Firenze, capturing a Florentine woman with a 'petite coëffe' and translates to a 'small cap'. This head covering, modest and unassuming, reminds us of similar veils across centuries—the humble headscarves of medieval women, or the veils of nuns, symbols of piety and protection. Yet, here, the coëffe is more decoration than devotion, a sign of bourgeois status. Consider, too, the classical architecture framing her. Columns and arches echo the grand structures of ancient Rome, a nod to timeless ideals. But this grandiosity is tempered by the everyday, with its focus on the fashionable lady. It shows the non-linear progression of symbols, resurfacing, evolving, and taking on new meanings in different historical contexts.