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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture > and as a negative image : > > http://www.christophersbookroom.com/cc/nazareth/bagatti/colfigs/bagatti-pl43-4-d-neg.jpg > > the upside down view > makes it clear that the thin, punched strap (on the left here) inexplicably > terminates/covers about 1/8 of the larger object, suggesting that there is > something solid which extends below the little "lipstick" [hey, that's what it > looks like] thingie to the side of the strap. > > and, in this view, the elements which make up the larger object can be seen a > bit clearer --the cord by which it hangs extends down directly into an inner > heart-shaped something-or-other, beyond which is a beaded border, beyond which > is the outer border, which seems to have also been articulated in some > fashion. > > i'm still stumped. > > or, stuck on the possibilities that : > > --it's a pocket watch, on a really, really cheap chain; > > --it's a heart-shaped locket, within which is a portrait of Mrs. Peter; > > --it's a fancy snuff box. > > i hereby withdraw the suggestion that the object next to the punched strap is > a little knife in a sheath --it's just too small. I think the negative images make clearer what already seemed to be the case yesterday, that the longer object is indeed a sheath of some sort, tapering to a point below where it joins the punctuated strap, and holding something with a rounded top (St. Peter's lipstick? a novel idea!). The sheath is the shape of a knife holder, I think, but the protruding top would make a strange handle, and difficult to extract from the holder if only the top of a handle. It reminds me of a breadstick, but a very small one! > i also note what appears to be a "mistake" in the depiction of that strap: > > it is clearly tied to the cord belt by a "half hitch" or "ring hitch" knot > > http://www.tribbler.com/tatman/ring-hitch.html > > but, as the above makes clear, that type of knot requires that there be *two* > straps, and the sculptor has only given us one. > > what the significance of this "mistake" might be, i cannot say. I don't think it needs to be seen as a mistake. It is a simple matter to create a strap (whether woven or from leather) that has a loop at the top which can be folded over and through which the lower strap can be drawn to create the sort of effect seen here. Of course, the resulting loop probably would need to be created and then the belt rope inserted through it, rather than drawing the entire sheath through the loop hole after the belt was already in place (unless the sheath was very collapsible, to fit through the strap loop, or the strap on the sheath was removable from the body of the sheath itself, which seems to me unlikely). What do I know? I've made objects with similar modes of attachment, apart from the chain dog collars that require similar "looping" for attachment to the dog's neck! > perhaps it's some sort of theological statement about Duality of the Trinity > or something. Ouch. > whatever the Dingus and its Mate are, to their intended audience they would > have been, as Groucho used to say "a common object, something you see every > day". As for the valentine's day object, I thought I could imagine a stylized "P" on it to the right of center yesterday, but the new images are not as suggestive. And would St. Peter have been a Phillie's fan? (Would there have been a similarly stylized "S" to the left?!) Bob -- Robert A. Kraft, Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania 227 Logan Hall (Philadelphia PA 19104-6304); tel. 215 898-5827 [log in to unmask] http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/kraft.html ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html