PORTRAIT OF AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD YOUNG MAN, 1606 Gortzius Geldorp (?) (1533-1616), Flemish school. The sword, a symbol of authority, suggests that the model may have belonged to a noble family. At the age of seven, the children celebrated their "breeching" ceremony, during which they received their first pants and sword, leaving behind the world of childhood and becoming little adults. The short cape around the body was very fashionable in Europe at the beginning of the 17th century.