Familiewapen van de familie Van Orléans met een egel in het Kasteel van Blois before 1875

Curator: Ah, an intriguing piece! This is a photograph, taken sometime before 1875 by Mèdéric Mieusement. It depicts the "Familiewapen van de familie Van Orléans met een egel in het Kasteel van Blois" or Family crest of the Van Orléans family with a hedgehog in the Castle of Blois. Editor: A crowned hedgehog...sitting within fleurs-de-lis! It's so… regally prickly! Is that redundant? Something about the subdued tones also creates a strangely humble air. The contrast is oddly charming. Curator: The choice of the hedgehog, the porcupine more precisely, as a heraldic emblem does carry multiple symbolic weights. On one hand, it speaks to defense, resilience; but on another, with the royal crown, it assumes connotations of sovereign protection. Consider that emblems and heraldry, often seen as visual shorthand, function as vessels of memory and power. Editor: It's interesting, this little guy and his protective aura. I wonder what drove them to adopt the hedgehog in particular. I guess I imagine someone with a real fondness for those strange nocturnal creatures. It's all so medieval in a way. A sort of heraldic hug, or something sharp and unexpected! It could even become a cartoon today, a porcupine with a crown saying "Back off!" Curator: Precisely! They’re powerful visual assertions of identity, speaking volumes about aspiration and perceived virtues through commonly understood symbols. Even today they remind us that visual signifiers hold lasting power across the ages. It makes you think about the symbols we create, and what they’ll mean generations from now. Editor: It does… what our little crowned, quilted friend will mean down the road... I think I might be needing to go sit with it for a few minutes, now. Pondering futures is taxing! Curator: Yes, well, this image continues to hold historical weight but offers insights on the complex language of visual representation. Editor: Oh definitely! More powerful symbols than what’s printed on graphic T-shirts. This leaves one with some seriously quirky and profound stuff to meditate on, that's for sure!