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VMs f75r - Nymph Holding Spurtle
- VMs f75r - Nymph Holding Spurtle
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RE: VMs f75r - Nymph Holding Spurtle
R. Sale > 02-10-2025, 08:08 PM
If the clues seem few in number, consider their potency.
What is 'the spurtle'? My attention is drawn to another nymph a little bit below, the one doing the back float with her arms open wide. The way she's tilted sort of forms the letter 'X' as in the Greek letter 'chi' which is the first letter of 'Christos'. And if the image of this nymph had been turned vertical, it would be a clearer allusion, I suppose.
This trick of turning things to one side was used in other VMs illustrations. It's a way to introduce ambiguity without actually altering the intended interpretation. -
RE: VMs f75r - Nymph Holding Spurtle
Barbrey > 03-10-2025, 01:30 AM
(02-10-2025, 08:08 PM)R. Sale Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.If the clues seem few in number, consider their potency.
What is 'the spurtle'? My attention is drawn to another nymph a little bit below, the one doing the back float with her arms open wide. The way she's tilted sort of forms the letter 'X' as in the Greek letter 'chi' which is the first letter of 'Christos'. And if the image of this nymph had been turned vertical, it would be a clearer allusion, I suppose.
This trick of turning things to one side was used in other VMs illustrations. It's a way to introduce ambiguity without actually altering the intended interpretation.
That’s totally true. What’s more, that figure, larger than the others and in that pose, reminds me of the Myrrha figure on f77v,whereas the spike and”man” comprise elements of the Hermaphroditus figur on f79r who also appears male, half in the water, with two spikes instead of one.
I swear there is a visual language in the rosette and balneological (and probably cosmological, maybe astrological) pages if only the illustrator had been clearer. At the end of some of the “tail” containers, for instance, elements of air, earth, Fire and Water can “just” be distinguished from one another. Sometimes the spindles on the canopies are presented in pairs, one seeming phallic, the other yonic. And the yonic spindle top can be compared to the top of the rosettes temples/containers. Or the rims of some of the rosette are also found as rims of the baths. Clear meaning always feels just out of reach. -
RE: VMs f75r - Nymph Holding Spurtle
bi3mw > 03-10-2025, 01:31 PM
Years ago, I read a theory in which the “spurtle” is a lever that opens and closes the adjacent overflow. If I remember correctly, the entire upper part of the image was understood to be a vessel with a liquid circuit. Unfortunately, I can no longer find anything about this online.