VMs f75r - Nymph Holding Spurtle

[Aga Tentakulus]

   
Lead stylus (13th century) from St. Johann Monastery in Müstair. The Graubünden Archaeological Service has many writing instruments that are believed to have come from a medieval scriptorium in the convent. Image: Patrick Cassitti ‘Evidence of Writing’.

For me, it's just a stylus (Griffel). A writing tool.

[Aga Tentakulus]

   
Ritual from the Iron Age.

Or simply a remedy for headaches.

[Petrasti]

I've written a complete post about the Celtic origins

"Why the Voynich is Celtic"

[Barbrey]

Ritual from the Iron Age.

Or simply a remedy for headaches.

Lol, great image. And Actually, if I had to guess, this would be closest to what I think it is, because further in the balneological pages, on what I call the Hermaphrodite page, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. , two of these “spikes” seem to be piercing a log, possible reference to the crucifixion.

[Koen G]

these “spikes” seem to be piercing a log, possible reference to the crucifixion.

One thing that's always fascinated me is the male figure right underneath the one holding the spike. The Voynich artist  - struggling with poses as they were - went out of their way here to make this figure's hand/wrist overlap in front of the body. Nude male, legs obscured, hands crossed at the wrist, spike nearby... that's one of the most common poses for the Man of Sorrows.

   

[Barbrey]

these “spikes” seem to be piercing a log, possible reference to the crucifixion.

One thing that's always fascinated me is the male figure right underneath the one holding the spike. The Voynich artist  - struggling with poses as they were - went out of their way here to make this figure's hand/wrist overlap in front of the body. Nude male, legs obscured, hands crossed at the wrist, spike nearby... that's one of the most common poses for the Man of Sorrows.

Nice catch!  I bet you’re right.

But what an odd way of doing things. Have you ever seen this kind of “deconstruction” in other illustrated manuscripts.

[quimqu]

One thing that's always fascinated me is the male figure right underneath the one holding the spike. The Voynich artist  - struggling with poses as they were - went out of their way here to make this figure's hand/wrist overlap in front of the body. Nude male, legs obscured, hands crossed at the wrist, spike nearby... that's one of the most common poses for the Man of Sorrows.

Under my modest point of view, he/she seems to be scrubbing his/her forearm in a river.

[Barbrey]

One thing that's always fascinated me is the male figure right underneath the one holding the spike. The Voynich artist  - struggling with poses as they were - went out of their way here to make this figure's hand/wrist overlap in front of the body. Nude male, legs obscured, hands crossed at the wrist, spike nearby... that's one of the most common poses for the Man of Sorrows.

Under my modest point of view, he/she seems to be scrubbing his/her forearm in a river.

No worries, we can all only interpret from our own points of view. Koen, for instance, often finds religious iconography because he’s well versed in medieval art. I myself come from a more alchemical pov, whereby in alchemy at this point of time, Christ was also portrayed as the rebis, the divine androgyne, and thus he is often aligned with the story of Hermaphroditus. I’ve already done an interpretation of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. as the Ovidian story of Hermaphroditus. Because of alchemy’s conflation of Christ/Hermaphroditus, the presence in the bottom image of two spikes in a log with its crucifixion symbolism actually fits perfectly. So when Koen draws our attention to that very iconic Christ pose with the spike above, it actually supports my interpretation while doing nothing to diminish his own in its broader context. 

Moreover, Koen’s especially, but also myself have found many unexpected Christian references in the balneological and rosettes pages. So I’m looking t not just the one pose with a spike, but a growing pattern. Maybe it will Kaiser Sose, but I like it!

[R. Sale]

That's the VMs artist's modus operandi, doing things in odd ways - intentionally - visual trickery, ambiguity, duality, heraldic canting, code shifting and so on.

[Koen G]

That's about how far I'm comfortable going these days. Religious imagery was omnipresent, dominating every one of the visual arts. It seems clear to me that the VM artist(s) borrowed from that imagery. 

This can be for as simple a reason as inspiration for poses. In other words, grab the most available images as examples because you suck at drawing. 

But it can also be part of a broader programme, which is what I still believe. But I no longer pretend to know the artist's motivations. Pointing out iconographic similarities in pose and thematic content is more objective.

By the way: for the medieval viewer, Christ rising from the tomb is exactly the same story as Jonah emerging from the mouth of the fish.