26-08-2016, 02:30 PM
I won't have time this weekend, but it would be interesting to check other examples of griffins, to see if any were depicted with a similar tree behind them. It is possible, since they could clearly be seen as a feline-type creature.
Either way, the unifying element appears to be a slight reinterpretation of elements. A beak becomes a weird tongue, a tree becomes a weird tail. And the result becomes, somehow, something that "at first sight if you squint a bit" can pass as part of a zodiac-like series.
Either way, the unifying element appears to be a slight reinterpretation of elements. A beak becomes a weird tongue, a tree becomes a weird tail. And the result becomes, somehow, something that "at first sight if you squint a bit" can pass as part of a zodiac-like series.