We are already a few days further along with our research into the origin of the portraits. The frames have been carefully handled. They have been cleaned and the minor damage touched up. The frames are of exceptional quality. This is especially visible on the back. These were made of hardwood by a craftsman.
On the back are also the stickers with the details of the framing shop:
Frames and wood gilding
J. Genis, Manufacturer
10a, rue de Lenglentier, 10a
Brussels (Midi)
Unfortunately, nothing can be found about this picture framer's shop.
Then there are family crests in the upper left corner of both portraits. This must be a starting point for uncovering the identity of the sitters. Both family coats of arms feature a crown above them. The gentleman has a standard crown and the lady has a knight's helmet topped with a crown of the same shape. According to heraldry, these are the crowns of a count and a countess. This makes it interesting. Given the portraits, these must be very distinguished people. The family crests confirm this.
lady's coat of arms 
Family crest lord
Two coats of arms (shields) can be seen. This is a so-called alliance coat of arms. Such coats of arms were used by spouses. This is confirmed by the fact that the right coat of arms is round. This is the wife's coat of arms. According to heraldry, this is customary. So we have already gathered a number of things from the portraits:
– they are people of nobility (Count and Countess)
– they are married.
But who are they? This should be deducible from the family coat of arms. The left shield belongs to the gentleman and the right shield to the lady. On the left shield are a fess and two lozenges. On the right shield is a red lion with something crossed above it. It is not entirely clear to me what this is. They look like rakes.
It is in no way possible to find out who the portrayed individuals are. We have searched almost the entire internet, but without any concrete result. What was noticeable, however, was that with every search result the website www.cbg.nl comes to the surface. The CBG is the Center for Family History. This center has a lot of sources such as family crests and pedigrees. This seems to me to be the prime location to search.
The main clue is the family crests. So let's search the family crest database right away. But how do you describe a family crest? This requires some knowledge of heraldry. Unfortunately, I don't have that, so I will have to dive into this. There are plenty of websites that provide explanations. Where would we be without the internet? After some research, I can recognize a fess on the left coat of arms. So I'll enter that into the website's search box https://cbgfamiliewapens.nl/. 4,050 results! Surely there must be something useful in there. The coat of arms also features two lozenges at the top. Let's add that to the search terms. 142 results! That makes it a bit simpler.
But among these 142 hits I see many similarities, but not the exact image of the shield. Should I describe it differently? I wouldn't know how. Tried various search options, but without a satisfactory result. Unfortunately, after days of searching, I have to give up. More help is needed, but how?
Then I realize something. Why shouldn't I boldly send an email to the CBG? Asking costs nothing, right? Having finally mustered the courage, I sent a polite email with photos to the CBG after all. I am curious if they will want to help. Just waiting in suspense………….
