Same here. Only a bit more so.
The standard medieval representation of the three continents has idealized the watery separations into a 'T inside a O' type of image. Also in Christian imagery, there is the "tau" cross. Shaped like the letter 'T'. Conflation is unavoidable. Someone will make the connection. "The world is marked as being Christian" - or some such interpretation. It was an era of sympathetic conflation leading up to Ficino.
But then there is the VMs cosmos, in which the T-O is inverted, as you know. So, does that count as Christian or anti-Christian?? Or what?
The simple structure of the VMS cosmic interior consists of three basic parts: earth, stars and cosmic boundary. It does not have the planetary spheres, or the signs of the Zodiac. It is clearly not representative of the "scientific knowledge" of the era. Is it more representative of a religious perspective?
The way it seems to me, if we posit one prospective interpretation for a certain illustration, say that the Rosettes are New Jerusalem, and the interpretation is religious and probably Christian, then it seems unlikely that we would find an alternate interpretation somewhere else, relating to the era of the C-14 dating. A person, the artist, who can be shown to have a decisive preference in one instance is likely to hold that opinion throughout on religious matters. Therefore, the images that might seem questionable and ambiguous to an outside investigation could appear as genuine and full-blown to those who know and believe in the symbolism and the religious interpretation. Not just for some of the symbols, but for *all* of them.
The standard medieval representation of the three continents has idealized the watery separations into a 'T inside a O' type of image. Also in Christian imagery, there is the "tau" cross. Shaped like the letter 'T'. Conflation is unavoidable. Someone will make the connection. "The world is marked as being Christian" - or some such interpretation. It was an era of sympathetic conflation leading up to Ficino.
But then there is the VMs cosmos, in which the T-O is inverted, as you know. So, does that count as Christian or anti-Christian?? Or what?
The simple structure of the VMS cosmic interior consists of three basic parts: earth, stars and cosmic boundary. It does not have the planetary spheres, or the signs of the Zodiac. It is clearly not representative of the "scientific knowledge" of the era. Is it more representative of a religious perspective?
The way it seems to me, if we posit one prospective interpretation for a certain illustration, say that the Rosettes are New Jerusalem, and the interpretation is religious and probably Christian, then it seems unlikely that we would find an alternate interpretation somewhere else, relating to the era of the C-14 dating. A person, the artist, who can be shown to have a decisive preference in one instance is likely to hold that opinion throughout on religious matters. Therefore, the images that might seem questionable and ambiguous to an outside investigation could appear as genuine and full-blown to those who know and believe in the symbolism and the religious interpretation. Not just for some of the symbols, but for *all* of them.