A cartouche originally referred to the oval frame with a horizontal line at the base that enclosed a pharaoh's royal name in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics — the unbroken rope symbolising eternity, protecting the name within. Champollion's decipherment of the Rosetta Stone was aided by recognising this pattern and identifying Cleopatra's and Ptolemy's names. In Baroque and Rococo architecture and decoration, 'cartouche' described any ornamental tablet or scroll with rolled or curling edges, typically used to display an inscription, coat of arms or decorative motif. The form appears on building façades, title pages of books, maps (the cartouches of 17th and 18th-century maps are often miniature paintings), and picture frames. It is one of the most persistent decorative forms in Western art, connecting ancient Egypt to 18th-century European ornament.