As I mentioned, the plate is exactly 13" wide. Friday the 13th has a connection to the Knights Templar in France, link below.
http://www.crystalinks.com/friday13th2.html
Notice the roses leading up to the vessel on the right side of the plate. The vessel is marked with vertical and twin meridian lines. The monk figure is depicted in an unflattering light. The Knights Templar were warrior-monks.
If you carefully examine the female figure, you might draw some strange conclusions. For one thing, what is 'she' wearing on her head? It reminds me of something else. What is the white object the monk is holding under his arm? Does the 'female' figure look pregnant to you? What secret is she telling the monk? Why are his toes pointed in the air?
This plate is a mystery wrapped in an enigma -- made in France. If anyone has ever seen one like it, or any painting it might be based on, please let me know.
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4 comments:
Hmmm. Given the distinctly unfavorable portrayal of the monk, have you researched what monasteries were functioning at the time? Who do you think may have commissioned the plate? It is a one of a kind, non?
I think the monk looks Franciscan. You can see the traditional garb in the following two links.
http://encarta.msn.com/media_461559975_761578474_-1_1/Franciscan_Monk.html
http://www.wtu.edu/franciscan/pages/intro/index.html
This is a history of the order. Sadly, my HTML is so bad I can't make links. My learning curve is steep. :-D
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/stfran-rule.html
What is interesting about depicting the monk as a Franciscan is the vow of poverty the monks had to take. If the plate is connected to the Knights Templar perhaps the depiction is intended to mock their wealth. King Philip elected to kill them because he was blackballed. But originally he wanted to be a part of their order, perhaps due to their prestige, wealth, and power.
Chip: (ha ha! I can't write that without giggling-- one of my old boyfriends, a fullback! :-) )
I have written to my Euro friends in the geomancy group for some clues-- lucky for you I can still read french-- I think the first step is to find out who commissioned the plate!
Chip! That is so kewl-- just click the nick and I'm here-- I have not heard back from Eurogeomancy yet, but I, umm, want to caution you a bit, that these people are both lovely AND highly eccentric. For example, my friend "J" gave me a device called a 'tensor' that is supposed to detect ley lines and Indian burial grounds for me when Mad Montague and I hack out in Pike Forest. But another member of the group, "B" is a professional french/german translator and I have enlisted her in the search for the commissioner of the plate-- is that ok to start with? You know, the engineering approach is always to break down the problem. BTW, do you have a geneology made up?
Latah-- jinn
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