Reversible brooch 1864 - 1874

This elegant brooch was crafted by Alexis Falize and presents the symbolic image of a rooster. The rooster, with its proud stance and vibrant plumage, is no mere barnyard fowl. It is an ancient symbol of vigilance, courage, and rebirth, heralding the dawn. Its image can be traced back to antiquity, where it was associated with solar deities and the triumph of light over darkness. Consider the rooster’s appearance on ancient Greek pottery, or as a guardian figure in Roman mosaics. Even in medieval Christian art, the rooster appears atop church steeples, a reminder of watchfulness and the coming of a new day. The potency of the rooster lies in its primal connection to time, to the cycle of life and death. The rooster's crow is an assertion of existence, a defiance against the shadows. Its continued appearance in art speaks to our enduring fascination with the passage of time and the hope that each new dawn brings. This is not a linear journey, but a cyclical return, as symbols re-emerge, laden with accumulated meaning, to stir our collective memory.