30-08-2023, 08:20 PM
(24-02-2022, 11:33 AM)Koen G wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Elaborating on Cvetka's idea of a monstrance, I think the overall shape of the detail is more similar to the symmetrical way they often drew chalices and lidless ciboriums. The style I circled below is quite common:
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (ca. 1400 German).
Hi, Koen,
It is true that the simple chalices and ciboriums are most frequent in the medieval manuscripts, particularly those who were critical of the official church and its extravaganza. I believe that most fancy pharmaceutical containers were designed for Roman religious service. If the author was a Carthusian from the region of ancient Austrian province of Carniola, he would have been motivated to design the church vessels for Frederic of Celje who was a great patron of Carthusain monasteries and who was at the time engaged in building new Churches. This might have nothing to do with the way the monk felt about the fancy containers.
As you already pointed out in your post, he depicted a plant as a chalice. There is only one chalice in the pharmaceutical section that stands out and looks like monstrance. It looks like it is standing on top of the ordinary chalice. When I first noticed it, I was wondering why would the author of the VM depict the monstrance if he did not believe in the relics and icons. Monstrance is a fancy container where a large host or a relic of a saint is placed for adoration.
I believe that the author wanted to point out the origin of the sacrament of the Holy Communion which started with the prophets who were the spokespeople for God in the Old Testament, and continued with Jesus who is regarded as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophets.
The fact that the monstrance is placed on top of the chalice has a special meaning: while ordinary Christians get a watered-down version of the 'mystery', the genuine mystic experiences what the mystics call 'unification with God' or a mystical death, which led them to the proper understanding of the biblical writing.
While bread and wine represent symbolic sharing to improve existential life, the genuine artists (in all faiths) are updating the advice for spiritual well-being.