Six onion-roof towers supporting heavens

[Stefan Wirtz_2]

... 5 is not 6 is not 7 ...

Still there is no valid explanation how this



could be this:



So the towers (of Jerusalem) remain a dream, nothing more.


Meanwhile, a single Byzantine script shows much more things to have a look at:

[Jorge_Stolfi]

... 5 is not 6 is not 7 ...
Still there is no valid explanation how this
[six things at center of f85v2]
could be this:
[drawings of towers of Jerusalem]
So the towers (of Jerusalem) remain a dream, nothing more.
Meanwhile, a single Byzantine script shows much more things to have a look at:
[Drawings of Byzantine guys enjoying gelato cones]

I don't know what this post is replying to.  

Anyway, please folks, those six things in the central rosette are definitely towers. Not cookie jars, beer steins, Mayan chocolate jugs, Pringles cans...

Sometimes some things resemble other things, but that does not mean that they are those other things.

The Pharma containers have varied shapes, some of which resemble these towers.  But the six towers all resemble each other, and resemble a common type of Russian tower -- including the lobed design, the spire shaped as an inverted trumpet, with sharp tip and a sphere skewered halfway through it:
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Sure, those Rosette domes are a bit to wide (by a factor of 2) in proportion to the towers, compared to Russian onion-dome towers. But the heads of the nymphs (and of the Zodiac personified symbols) are a bit too big in proportion to their bodies, too.  

Sure, the rightmost tower is rather thin.  But there is an explanation: when the Scribe got to that tower, he found that he had not enough space left for a full width one.

However, there is no good reason tho think that they should be the towers of Jerusalem. Or of the New Jerusalem of Revelation.  Sure, one is supposed to be the Center of the World, the other the center of the Heavens; and they both have towers.  But there does not seem to be much else in the big fold-out that would connect to those Jewish/Christian themes.

And, don't worry -- the Scribe need not have been Russian, or be working in Russia, or having ever seen a Russian onion tower in person.  Just as he probably never saw a volcano.  Or a bear-like scorpion.  Or a naked woman.  He probably copied those (badly, as usual) from a book.  Like much everything else.

All the best, --stolfi

[zachary.kaelan]

On the last page of 88v, in the bottom left, there is what is clearly something with a dome resembling that of the objects on the rosette, but the resemblance ends there, with a skinny bottom stem and flared base resembling a wine glass.

One thing I find interesting is that one of the domes is only half onion, a "helmet dome". In general it looks like the objects are meant to all look distinct for some reason. Also, the line work at the bottom of the helmet one looks like the object is sunken into the "ground" or sitting on clouds.

I completely fail to see any possible connection between containers of herbs and the cosmos, beyond smoking the right herbs to take a trip around it.

It is much more likely that he wanted to establish a connection that runs through the entire book.

There's evidence that at least one quire, #9, was originally bound within another manuscript, so I consider that highly unlikely.

The towers do not seem to be holding up the sky, but surround it "honorifically", like bell towers surround some churches and mosques, and extend a little bit above it.

My interpretation is that the artist specifically wanted to show that the objects are "taller than the stars".

[Bluetoes101]

Sometimes some things resemble other things, but that does not mean that they are those other things.

   

[Aga Tentakulus]

I completely fail to see any possible connection between containers of herbs and the cosmos

When medicine no longer helps, then it is God's will.
That's how I see it. Medical vessels are the support before God's decision.
Even back then, people knew that it was better to do something than nothing.

[Bluetoes101]

I completely fail to see any possible connection between containers of herbs and the cosmos

When medicine no longer helps, then it is God's will.
That's how I see it. Medical vessels are the support before God's decision.
Even back then, people knew that it was better to do something than nothing.

There's also Alchemy (example below), and probably a host of other things like Aga shows.
There's quite a lot of things that make no sense to us, but made sense to people before us. For example here (England - And I guess many other places) we have "spirits", one refers to ghosts or souls, the other meaning refers to alcohol. It comes from distillation and people believing the soul of the thing being distilled is what was being drawn out. Literally its ghost/essence/soul and they could see it rising into the tubes. Some people might see a ghost transitioning tubes and think the drawer is crazy, or it must be something else, but with some knowledge of medieval distillation its pretty obvious what it means. 

Obviously the VMS is not this simple, but I'm not having "buildings - because they do not look like buildings" at face value sorry  
The Duck-Law police are also still rather disgruntled about this.. 

   

[DG97EEB]

I'm sure someone has thought about this before, and it plays to my own theory about a Padua link, but could the central rosette be a representation of the the Basilica of St Anthony in Padua...? It has domed rooves and Padua was surrounded by canals and quays..

[pjburkshire]

I'm sure someone has thought about this before, and it plays to my own theory about a Padua link, but could the central rosette be a representation of the the Basilica of St Anthony in Padua...? It has domed rooves and Padua was surrounded by canals and quays..

When I first saw them I thought they were buildings but Koen convinced me otherwise.

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Google:

Definitions from Oxford Languages
noun
1.  a receptacle shaped like a shrine or a cup with an arched cover, used in the Christian Church for the reservation of the Eucharist.


Either way, I think the large circle in the middle represents Heaven/God.

[R. Sale]

Two containers, held by Wisemen. Paris, c. 1410.

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[Koen G]

Very nice.

(The first one seems to be offering a cookie from the box to the child.)