What is unique or rare about the VM Zodiac signs?

[Koen G]

What is unique is the hat. The hat is an exaggeration. The hat is a chaperon. And the chaperon is white.

It is unique among the crossbow Sagittarii, but is it unique for Sagittarius in general?

About the type of headgear, we seem to have a specific type of chaperon. The most typical (Burgundian-Netherlandish style) chaperon has at least three parts: a padded circular "rondel" which sits around the head, a long tail (cornette) which was sometimes used like a scarf, and the "patte" or "cockscomb", which also hangs down from the hat. In the image below, the tail hangs on the right and the "patte" on the left:



In the VM archer, the tail (cornette) is absent and the patte is long and simple. Now here is an interesting bit from the Wiki:

Especially in Italy, the cornette was sometimes dispensed with, leaving just an un-flared tubular patte fixed to the bourrelet all round and hanging down to one side of the head. Reed (see refs) calls these sack hats.

This means that the headgear of the VM archer is not only a specific subtype of chaperon (or even a different type of headgear altogether, depending on the modern classification), but it is also clearly distinct from the Burgundian style. I am not the first one to point this out, but a reminder seemed in place because we're cutting corners.