Similar shapes from antiquity Peepal leaves were used in artistic depictions by the
Indus Valley civilisation; a heart-shaped pendant originating from there has been discovered and is now exhibited in the
National Museum of India. In the 5th–6th century BC, the heart shape was used in the Roman world to represent the seeds of the plant
silphium, a plant possibly used as a
contraceptive and an
aphrodisiac. Silver coins from
Cyrene of the 5th–6th century BC bear a similar design, sometimes accompanied by a silphium plant and is understood to represent its seed or fruit. Since ancient times in
Japan, the heart symbol has been called
Inome (猪目), meaning the eye of a
wild boar, and it has the meaning of warding off evil spirits. The decorations are used to decorate
Shinto shrines,
Buddhist temples,
castles, and weapons. The oldest examples of this pattern are seen in some of the Japanese original
tsuba (sword guard) of the style called
toran gata tsuba (lit., inverted egg shaped
tsuba) that were attached to swords from the sixth to seventh centuries, and part of the
tsuba was hollowed out in the shape of a heart symbol.
Earliest use The combination of the heart shape and its use within the heart metaphor was developed in the end of the
Middle Ages, although the shape has been used in many ancient epigraphy monuments and texts. With possible early examples or direct predecessors in the 13th to 14th century, the familiar symbol of the heart representing love developed in the 15th century, and became popular in Europe during the 16th. Before the 14th century, the heart shape was not associated with the meaning of the heart metaphor. The geometric shape itself is found in much earlier sources. However, in such instances it does not depict a heart, but typically foliage: in examples from antiquity
fig leaves, and in medieval iconography and heraldry, typically the leaves of
ivy and of the
water-lily. The first known, but disputed, depiction of a heart as a symbol of romantic love dates to the 1250s. It occurs in a miniature decorating a capital 'S' in a manuscript of the French . In the miniature, a kneeling lover (or more precisely, an allegory of the lover's "sweet gaze" or ) offers his heart to a damsel. The heart here resembles a pine cone (held "upside down", the point facing upward), in accord with medieval anatomical descriptions. However, in this miniature, what suggests a heart shape is only the result of a lover's finger superimposed on an object; the full shape outline of the object is partly hidden, and, therefore unknown. Moreover, the French title of the manuscript that features the miniature translates into "Novel of the pear" in English. Thus the heart-shaped object would be a pear; the conclusion that a pear represents a heart is dubious, and opinions differ over this claimed depiction of a heart denoting romantic love.
Giotto in his 1305 painting in the
Scrovegni Chapel (
Padua) shows an
allegory of charity (caritas) handing her heart to
Jesus Christ. This heart is also depicted in the pine cone shape based on anatomical descriptions of the day (still held "upside down"). Giotto's painting exerted considerable influence on later painters, and the motive of Caritas offering a heart is shown by
Taddeo Gaddi in
Santa Croce, by
Andrea Pisano on the bronze door of the south porch of the
Florence Baptistery (), by
Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the Palazzo Publico in Siena () and by
Andrea da Firenze in
Santa Maria Novella in Florence (). The convention of showing the heart point upward switches in the late 14th century and becomes rare in the first half of the 15th century. The convention of showing a dent at the base of the heart thus spread at about the same time as the convention of showing the heart with its point downward. The modern indented red heart has been used on
playing cards since the late 15th century. Various hypotheses attempted to connect the "heart shape" as it evolved in the
Late Middle Ages with instances of the geometric shape in antiquity. Such theories are modern, proposed from the 1960s onward, and they remain speculative, as no continuity between the supposed ancient predecessors and the late medieval tradition can be shown. Specific suggestions include the shape of the seed of the
silphium plant, used in ancient times as an
herbal contraceptive, or stylized depictions of
breasts,
buttocks, or the
pubic mound or spread
vulva. File:Roman de la poire heart metaphor.jpg|The earliest known possible visual depiction of a heart symbol, as a lover hands his heart to the beloved lady, in a manuscript of the , 13th century File:Giotto di Bondone - No. 45 The Seven Virtues - Charity - WGA09272.jpg|Giotto's allegory of charity handing her heart to Jesus Christ () File:Battistero di firenze, porta sud di andrea pisano 23 carità.JPG|Charity on the south doors of the Florence Baptistery () File:Othea's Epistle BnF Fr 606 f 6r.jpg|Modern-looking heart symbols are presented to Venus in an illumination by the
Master of the Epître d'Othéa ()
Renaissance and early modern with one heart symbol on top of them Heart shapes can be seen on various
stucco reliefs and wall panels excavated from the ruins of
Ctesiphon, the
Persian capital (). The
Luther rose was the
seal that was designed for
Martin Luther at the behest of Prince
John Frederick, in 1530, while Luther was staying at the
Coburg Fortress during the
Diet of Augsburg. Luther wrote an explanation of the symbol to
Lazarus Spengler: "a black cross in a heart, which retains its natural color, so that I myself would be reminded that faith in the Crucified saves us. 'For one who believes from the heart will be justified' (
Romans 10:10)." The
aorta remains visible, as a protrusion at the top centered between the two "chambers" indicated in the symbol, in some depictions of the Sacred Heart well into the 18th century, and is partly still shown today (although mostly obscured by elements such as a crown, flames, rays, or a cross) but the "hearts" suit did not have this element since the 15th century. File:CordierColor.jpg|The chanson
Belle, Bonne, Sage by
Baude Cordier, written in the shape of a heart, in the
Chantilly Codex. This is one of two dedicatory pieces placed at the beginning of the older (late 14th century) corpus, probably to replace the original first fascicle, which is missing. File:Sacré-Coeur Köln.jpg|Early depiction of the Heart of Jesus in the context of the
Five Wounds (the wounded heart here depicting Christ's wound inflicted by the
Lance of Longinus) in a 15th-century manuscript File:Waldburg-Gebetbuch 023 detail.jpg|1486 depiction of the Five Wounds File:Petit Livre d'Amour 6r.jpg|Miniature from the (), showing the author depositing his heart in a marguerite flower (symbolizing his mistress, who was called Marguerite). Also worth mentioning is the miniature on fol. 13r, showing two women catching winged hearts in a net. File:Fotothek df tg 0004102 Wappen ^ Siegel ^ Lutherwappen ^ Lutherrose ^ Reformation.jpg|The
Luther rose, 1706 print after the 1530 design File:1545GermanCardDeck.jpg|Hearts suit in a 1540s German deck of playing cards File:Hjertebogen.jpg|The Danish "
Heart Book", a heart-shaped manuscript of love ballads from the 1550s File:Champaigne, Philippe de - Saint Augustin - 1645-1650.jpg|
Augustine of Hippo holding a heart in his hand which is set alight by a ray emanating from divine Truth (
Veritas), painting by
Philippe de Champaigne, File:Robert la Longe - Ranjeno srce Jezusovo.jpg|Allegorical painting of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus. The central heart radiates hearts gathered up by
Putti. By Robert la Longe, . File:Bleiernes Herz Christoph-Otto von Velen.jpg|Leaden heart of
Raesfeld chapel (funerary casket containing the heart of Christoph Otto von Velen, d. 1733) File:Mus%C3%A9e_Boyadjian_MRAH_20_11_2011_Sacr%C3%A9_Coeur_M_Alacoque.jpg|18th-century depiction of the Sacred Heart from the vision of
Marguerite Marie Alacoque (d. 1690). The heart is both "heart-shaped" and drawn anatomically correct, with both the
aorta and the
pulmonary artery visible, and with the crucifix placed inside the aorta. File:Sacred Heart 1770.jpg|Another anatomically correct Sacred Heart, painted in by
José de Páez Modern Since the 19th century, the symbol has often been used on
Valentine's Day cards,
candy boxes, and similar
popular culture artifacts as a symbol of
romantic love. The use of the heart symbol as a
logograph for the English verb "to love" derives from the use in "
I ♥ NY," introduced by the designer
Mary Wells Lawrence in 1977.
Outdoor toilets in Scandinavia traditionally had a heart shaped ventilation hole. In homes a heart symbol made from red painted plywood, or a stuffed fabric one, is often used to assist visitors in finding the modern facility. For image see:
Hjerte (symbol) Heart symbols are frequently used to symbolize
"health" or "lives" in
video games.
The Legend of Zelda (1986) had a "life bar" composed of heart shapes, and many other games continued this convention (the
Castlevania franchise being a notable exception, where the hearts are ammunition for the secondary weapons instead of representing health). Since the 1990s, the heart symbol has also been used as an ideogram indicating health outside of the video gaming context, e.g., its use by restaurants to indicate heart-healthy nutrient content claim (e.g., "low in
cholesterol"). A copyrighted "heart-check" symbol to indicate heart-healthy food was introduced by the
American Heart Association in 1995. File:A Map of Womans Heart.jpg|A heart-shaped "Map of Woman's Heart" (1830s) File:Victorian Valentine GT Little.jpg|Two burning hearts, coloured pink, illustration on a Victorian-era
Valentine's Day card File:Wounded Heart Vinegar Valentine 1870s.jpg|A "
Vinegar Valentine" card from the 1870s, with a red heart symbol pierced by six arrows File:BigPinkHeart.jpg|The traditional "heart shape" appears on a 1910 Valentine's Day card. File:Look in His Eyes cover.jpg|Sheet music cover of "Look in His Eyes", from the musical
Have a Heart (1913) File:Magazine advertisement for The Orderly (1921).jpg|Magazine advertisement for the silent film
The Orderly (1921) File:Wedding_ring_with_heart_shadow.jpg|Wedding rings of a groom and bride with shadow in the form of a heart ==Heraldry==