I don't think that proposed uniformity is entirely accurate. While there are sections that look like it's just one nymph after another, there are also numerous examples of nymphs that are quite unusual, if not unique. And it is not just their faces, it is also things that they hold, clothing, crowns, and hats that they wear. These are their attributes.
There's a short guy, just after six o'clock in the outer ring of Gemini. He is standing on some object. This is not "just another generic angel"! He clearly does not fit the profile. It's 'Whoozit' the Short. It's Pepin and Mrs. the Short. Who can say the artist did not have a sense of humor?
Heraldry played a significant role - well beyond the VMs C-14 dates. Royalty is sometimes represented in clothing with heraldic emblems. On VMs White Aries outer ring at two o'clock, there is an attractive nymph in a green dress. If this clothing is heraldic, she is the wife of the Green Knight. This is Lady Bertilak, of literary fame.
There are certain interesting details in the biography of Colette of Corbie regarding a mystical ring and cross. She died in 1447. So, while many of the nymphs possess no attributes, those that do could be interpreted as having individual identities for those few examples where we can properly recover and recognize their historical attributes. The combined heraldry of the Genoese Gambit, for example.
As far as gems in rings, they became part of that whole system of sympathetic associations that culminated with Ficino. Something like: astronomical planet <> classical deity <> astrological influence <> Metals <> Gems <> Colors <> ETC.
If the stones in the rings cannot be identified, what more can be said? If those are the only stones in the VMs, what more can be done?
There's a short guy, just after six o'clock in the outer ring of Gemini. He is standing on some object. This is not "just another generic angel"! He clearly does not fit the profile. It's 'Whoozit' the Short. It's Pepin and Mrs. the Short. Who can say the artist did not have a sense of humor?
Heraldry played a significant role - well beyond the VMs C-14 dates. Royalty is sometimes represented in clothing with heraldic emblems. On VMs White Aries outer ring at two o'clock, there is an attractive nymph in a green dress. If this clothing is heraldic, she is the wife of the Green Knight. This is Lady Bertilak, of literary fame.
There are certain interesting details in the biography of Colette of Corbie regarding a mystical ring and cross. She died in 1447. So, while many of the nymphs possess no attributes, those that do could be interpreted as having individual identities for those few examples where we can properly recover and recognize their historical attributes. The combined heraldry of the Genoese Gambit, for example.
As far as gems in rings, they became part of that whole system of sympathetic associations that culminated with Ficino. Something like: astronomical planet <> classical deity <> astrological influence <> Metals <> Gems <> Colors <> ETC.
If the stones in the rings cannot be identified, what more can be said? If those are the only stones in the VMs, what more can be done?