Qasr mosaic leopard and VMS Leo/August image

[Koen G]

Marco - so you think it's proper to "mix and match" aspects from a wide range of sources? Those lions you posted look nothing like the Voynich cat.

Also, keep in mind that many manuscripts on the Warburg website (not talking about the ones you provide here) were illuminated with imagery found in ancient sources.


Sam - your analysis is fine. It looks to me as if the mosaic feline is from the same tradition is the exemplar used for the VM, although perhaps not a direct ancestor. Maybe more like an uncle. It would be interesting if we could find more examples of cats with trees, though I'm afraid that most artwork from the relevant time and area has been lost.

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Just some quick googling. These are just some examples to show what was customary at the time, NOT proposals for Voynich feline's direct ancestors. 

My favorite one is a pair of Roman mosaics from Puglia (heel of Italy). The top one especially seems relevant:



2ndC Roman, Tunisia. Tiger, intertwined with tree.


100 BCE, Delos. Panther, wobbly eyes, lifted paw, pointy tongue.


Feline with tree from Pompeii


Coin posted before by Diane:


I wonder if the tree was originally a symbol of Dionysios, since panthers, tigers and similar large felines were sacred to him. This offers a perfectly reasonable explanation for the transformation: the tree symbolism was not recognized anymore by later copyists and seen as superfluous, was reworked or wrongly interpreted as the tail.