The Egg Merchant 1741 - 1763

John Ingram etched "The Egg Merchant" in the 18th century. We see a young woman carrying a basket full of eggs, her figure set against a pastoral scene. The egg, universally, is a symbol of birth and potential, yet its fragility reminds us of life's delicate nature. Consider how eggs appear in Fra Angelico's paintings of the Madonna, a symbol of the immaculate conception and the promise of new life. Over time, its meaning has been secularized, now signifying fertility or the renewal of springtime. The basket she carries, brimming with these symbols of potential, evokes a powerful, subconscious recognition of life's cyclical nature. These symbols speak to our most primal understandings of birth, death, and rebirth, resonating with our deepest fears and hopes, engaging us on a profoundly emotional level. The egg has resurfaced, evolved, and continues to take on new meanings in different historical contexts, linking our present with echoes of the past.