A match for the containers? 16th-17th century ivory vases

[proto57]

I don't quite understand what this sale by La Sfera is supposed to prove? It is not disputed that Voynich was an antiquarian, that is, a dealer in old, rare books and manuscripts. That is, first and foremost, the reason why he acquired the “Voynich” manuscript and also tried to sell it. Nothing more.

To conclude from this that he forged the book because he had access to medieval illustrations is, at first glance, a circular argument that neither refutes one claim nor proves the other.

But the reason, the point, of demonstrating Voynich's access to all these materials was not to "... conclude... that he forged the book..."- of course it does not, and I don't, and I know of no one who says this.

Ironically the reason was to counter your very own, earlier claim, in this very thread, in which you had written,

That doesn't make sense. So much effort for a forgery—far too much effort. And some of these are very rare books—it's not very plausible just because he had access to libraries. Back then, even if these books existed, you still had to find them...

When you wrote this, I and others were explaining that, in fact, he had ample access to hundreds of thousands of books, many of them his very own. But I see you actually do agree with this level of access now, with, "It is not disputed that Voynich was an antiquarian, that is, a dealer in old, rare books and manuscripts."

Yes, and that is the only point here, to dispel any claim he would not have had easy access to the necessary sources, not at all to say this alone means he had forged the Voynich. Those are different arguments entirely.

But I also note that, in this very thread in fact, we see an example of my "Voynich Theorem #1" being borne out... for most of the examples being discussed are admittedly and demonstrably either owned by Voynich, or somewhere he is known to have visited, and even, a couple, a short stroll from his Florence Libreria. That is another important aspect of this... it is not just that these comparisons are compelling, it is that they were either in print by 1910, or somewhere he plausibly, or is known to have, visited.