Armorial panel commemorating a birth, with laudatory poem.

Description

Armorial panel commemorating a birth, with laudatory poem. 84,5 x 87 cm, black ink and gouache on laid paper (sl. browning, some (damp)staining, tears, sm. holes with losses at the edges, without loss of text or image, paper reinforcements on the verso). - A large decorative panel featuring, at the centre, alliance arms surmounted by a pseudo-heraldic crown, flanked by military trophies on one side and musical instruments on the other, and topped by allegorical figures of Venus and Cupid. Below, a Latin poem celebrating the child’s birth: "Nascens ille puer, magnus virtute nitescet. Martia gens celerans undique laeta venit. Jam nova per medias auras vexilla coruscant. & matri & puero digna plaudit ovans"' ("This newborn boy will shine with great virtue. The martial host hastens joyfully from every side. New banners already gleam through the air, and, rejoicing, it applauds as befits both mother and child"). The paternal arms are identical to those borne by the French Ameline de Cadeville family; the maternal arms and the identification of the whole remain uncertain. A rare ceremonial piece intended for display.