"Gebildbrot" (figuratively shaped bread), 18th century

After bread had become the main staple of a large majority of the European population in the 16th and 17th centuries, its cultural and symbolic significance also increased. So-called Gebildbrote (figuratively shaped bread) like the one shown in the photograph were baked for religious feasts in particular, but also for other ceremonial occasions.

Gebildbrot depicting a queen with the globus cruciger and the sceptre, bread, 18th century, unknown artist, photographer: Johannes Riemann; source: Deutsche Fotothek Dresden, http://www.deutschefotothek.de/documents/obj/32008611.