Merpersons

[-JKP-]

I have noticed one other comparison between the Hunterian merperson and the one in the VMS.

In the Hunterian image, the merperson is holding the comb with four fingers visible. At the end of the tail of the VMS image, it looks like the same comb (facing the other way), but the four fingers pattern from the first image is repeated here at the very end of the tail.

Another coincidence?

Or the clincher?

Look at all the world's manuscript merpersons. Can you find one anywhere with four finger-like things at the end of the tail or what looks like a comb in the tail?

Look hard. I have.

Oh! And neither merperson is carrying the usual accessory for merpeople - a mirror.

Thank you.

Don of Tallahassee

Even in the high-resolution scans, I can't tell what's going on in the hand of the VMS figure in the fish. As for the tail, I never thought of those as fingers or as a comb. To me they look like a few extra "ruffles" in the tail. They seem a bit fat and uneven to be fingers or a comb.

When I blogged about melusines, I included a picture of a mermaid at the end. If you click on the pic to enlarge it, you can see four fingers on the hand holding the comb extending beyond the comb (not the usual way of holding a comb), which came to mind when I was reading your post.

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