18-11-2016, 05:49 PM
VV: I believe that, even though the manuscript has been fashioned by the same group of people and hence has gotten a somewhat uniform look, it was based on different sources. The feline has been drawn without pupils - the eyes themselves are wobbly. This moon though, has a well-balanced face, but the pupils go different ways.
I have not studied this section (cosmology) much yet, so I'm open to all possibilities on its origin. For all I know it's medieval or Byzantine or...? I just think the crossing pupils are one clue we can keep in mind.
What made me wonder if it couldn't be some kind of knot is that the circle on the right has two lines in it, perhaps suggesting folds. Though it may also be a myriad of other things.
The manuscript page I linked has some fascinating iconography, but I haven't been able to find much literature on it. Your question did remind me of it because there are two "pairs" of circles on the figure:
- the two "stars" on either side
- the knot and the star-sphere-whatever he's cradling in his arm on the right.
I have not studied this section (cosmology) much yet, so I'm open to all possibilities on its origin. For all I know it's medieval or Byzantine or...? I just think the crossing pupils are one clue we can keep in mind.
What made me wonder if it couldn't be some kind of knot is that the circle on the right has two lines in it, perhaps suggesting folds. Though it may also be a myriad of other things.
The manuscript page I linked has some fascinating iconography, but I haven't been able to find much literature on it. Your question did remind me of it because there are two "pairs" of circles on the figure:
- the two "stars" on either side
- the knot and the star-sphere-whatever he's cradling in his arm on the right.