[split] f35v parallels "oak and ivy"

[Koen G]

At least I feel that in this particular case the comparison with the mosaic in Tunis is highly intriguing.
It would seem of interest to find out if similar images were propagated in more, shall we say, portable media.

My best guess is that it mimics a form of decorative plant setup that may have been common in the area at the time. I do agree that any exemplar images used for the VM were likely in "portable" form. On the other hand, the distance from Carthage to Sicily is about one third the distance from Brussels to Berlin, in other words really close. Even if one demands that al proposed Voynich sources must have been witnessed firsthand by a travelling author, it is not unlikely that an Italian individual witnessed decorations like these in his surroundings.


Besides that, there is evidence that the "symmetrical vines around stem" motif was used more widely - though I have not found any example better than the Tunis one so far. Here's an example from San Marco (Venice):



Edit: for clarity I must add that the one above is a clear example of the "thyrsus" staff, as reference to Dionysos, god of all vines. Whether the makers were aware of that is another question, these things have a tendency to turn into traditions.

A Carthage pavement mosaic, too bad the top is missing. 
 


Last edit: here's an example on the floor of the San Marco: