symbol - A form, image or subject representing a meaning other than the one with which it is usually associated.

Here are two paintings particularly famous for the symbols included in them:

Jan van Eyck (Dutch, died 1441), The Arnolfini Marriage [The Betrothal of Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna Cenami], 1434, oil on wood panel, 81.8 x 59.7 cm, National Gallery, London. The bride to be has placed her right hand into the left hand of her fiancé to symbolize their intention to wed. Some of the other symbols: a dog symbolizes love and fidelity, a pair of white slippers in the lower left symbolize the sanctity of marriage, fruits on the windowsill symbolize fertility and original sin, a candle burning in daylight acknowledges faith in God as well as his all-seeing eye. A convex mirror hangs on the wall behind the bride and groom. In this mirror is a reflection of the backs of the principal figures, accompanied by those of the painter and another man who witness the betrothal. The frame of the mirror contains ten medallions portraying scenes from the life of Christ. See convex, Dutch art, frame, and mirror.

Hieronymus [Jerome] Bosch (Dutch, 1450-1516), The Garden of Earthly Delights (triptych), c. 1500, Prado, Madrid. Creation of the World, depicting the third day of creation, the two closed outer wings (or shutters) for this triptych, each is 220 x 97 cm. Garden of Earthly Delights (Ecclesia's paradise), the central panel, 220 x 195 cm. Left wing: The Earthly Paradise (Garden of Eden), 220 x 97 cm. Right wing: Hell, 220 x 97 cm. Detail from right wing. Bosch worked at a time when symbols constituted a basic visual language. Although contemporary scholars don't always agree on interpretations of his paintings, the list below suggests possible meanings for some of the symbols found in this example. See more of his paintings in articles about altarpiece and Gothic.

Here are other works in which symbolism has been given importance:

China, Emperor's 12-Symbol Robe, 18th century, Ching dynasty, silk, metallic thread, 63 1/2 x 56 3/4 inches (161.29 x 144.15 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. The emblems reserved for the emperor's ceremonial robes were the twelve imperial symbols seen on this garment: sun, moon, constellation, mountain, pair of dragons, bird, cups, water weed, millet, fire, ax, and the symmetrical "fu" symbol. See Chinese art and costume.

United States of America, One Dollar Federal Reserve Note, 1988, recto and verso, engraving on paper (a cotton and linen blend, with red and blue minute silk fibers running through it), 2 5/8 x 6 inches. This design is similar to all one dollar bills produced from 1957-present. See articles about symbolism on the one dollar Federal Reserve Note, numismatics and currency, recto and verso.

 

• "The crest of a flower or the pattern of the lichen may or may not be significant symbols. But there is no stone in the street and no brick in the wall that is not actually a deliberate symbol — a message from some man, as much as if it were a telegram or a post card."
  G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), British writer. The Defendant, 1901.

• Online Symbolism Dictionary originally constructed by Allison Protas, augmented and refined by Geoff Brown and Jamie Smith in 1997, and by Eric Jaffe in 2001.
  
  
• Symbols.com: An Encyclopedia of Western Signs and Ideograms contains more than 2,500 Western signs, arranged into 54 groups according to their graphic characteristics. In 1,600 articles present their histories, uses, and meanings. The signs range from ideograms carved in mammoth teeth by Cro-Magnon men, to hobo signs and subway graffiti.

Also see allegory, attribute, compass rose, crown, definition, dingbat, feng shui, heraldry, icon, iconography, index, labyrinth, logo, mirror, nail, personification, rebus, semiotics, sign, signature, snake, and Symbolism.

https://inform.quest/_art