11-04-2016, 07:40 PM
As to your last question, I guess it's all subjective. And, now that you suggest the basin interpretation, I can sort of see it. But I've never seen a basin with an edge that frilly. They're usually just round. That should be an archeological oddity.
I'm no authority on art history, but I see no reason to reject a simple solution that would be concurrent with the time and place of VMs creation, and replace it with something that has to come from long ago and far away, by a route that is not well documented. Yes, I know all art has history, but heraldry has a history too. Back to whatever origins the source provides. The heraldry of the VMs Zodiac, the use of other examples of nebuly lines in the Nine Rosettes show the author's familiarity with this pattern.
There is no reason to confuse the nebuly line with the aegis line. Clearly there is nothing in the way of counterbalance in the aegis line like there is in the nebuly line. The whole lower half is missing in the aegis line. There may be a partial similarity on the top (black part) of the line, but look at the details. On the lower right part of the line there is always horizontal extension and a right angle. There is nothing like this in any nebuly line.
Blue paint - blue and white paint - are the primary colors of the nebuly line examples from the Oresme cosmos and the illustrations of Christine de Pizan, etc. Compare them with the VMs central rosette. And also in the upper left rosette. It's sky and clouds in nearly all instances and cosmic boundaries. I trust you have seen them.
I'm not much worried about the time between parchment preparation and the actual composition of the ms. They may not be as closely stuck together as some would suggest. What bothers me is that the Tubingen ram is the only relevant example, where a creature and some meandering (celestial) lines can be interpreted as an astrological sign. And wouldn't that work as well for any other zodiac house? But where are those examples in the historical record? If something is supposed to be the result that developed from tradition, nothing beats clear evidence of that tradition. Where is it? Much remains unresolved.
I'm no authority on art history, but I see no reason to reject a simple solution that would be concurrent with the time and place of VMs creation, and replace it with something that has to come from long ago and far away, by a route that is not well documented. Yes, I know all art has history, but heraldry has a history too. Back to whatever origins the source provides. The heraldry of the VMs Zodiac, the use of other examples of nebuly lines in the Nine Rosettes show the author's familiarity with this pattern.
There is no reason to confuse the nebuly line with the aegis line. Clearly there is nothing in the way of counterbalance in the aegis line like there is in the nebuly line. The whole lower half is missing in the aegis line. There may be a partial similarity on the top (black part) of the line, but look at the details. On the lower right part of the line there is always horizontal extension and a right angle. There is nothing like this in any nebuly line.
Blue paint - blue and white paint - are the primary colors of the nebuly line examples from the Oresme cosmos and the illustrations of Christine de Pizan, etc. Compare them with the VMs central rosette. And also in the upper left rosette. It's sky and clouds in nearly all instances and cosmic boundaries. I trust you have seen them.
I'm not much worried about the time between parchment preparation and the actual composition of the ms. They may not be as closely stuck together as some would suggest. What bothers me is that the Tubingen ram is the only relevant example, where a creature and some meandering (celestial) lines can be interpreted as an astrological sign. And wouldn't that work as well for any other zodiac house? But where are those examples in the historical record? If something is supposed to be the result that developed from tradition, nothing beats clear evidence of that tradition. Where is it? Much remains unresolved.