Re: Strigils

[Zandbergen@xxxxxxxxxxx (Rene Zandbergen)]

On John Grove's:

> While searching around ancient public bath links on the net, I came
> across this interesting picture of a Strigil (Could this be the small
> circular item held in a few of the bath scenes in the VMS?) Since I'm at
> work - I can't quote exactly what pages that would be.
> http://www.bowdoin.edu/dept/clas/arch304/baths/strigils.html

Stolfi wrote:

> Below are some additional strigil images (courtesy of Google). All are
> from classical Greek/Roman times; I wonder what bathing utensils were
> in use in medieval Europe.

First, I was a bit skeptical, since items from Pompeii could not have
been
familiar to our VMs writer(s). But apparently, they have been found
elsewhere too. Question is: when?

Of the original picture, my interpretation was that the 'hooks' were
the strigils, while the round thing could be a mirror. The 'yellow
submarine'
thing in the VMs looks more like the mirror. 

> BTW, in several of the Greek images, from vases and statues, the
> person holding the strigil also holds in the same hand a sponge and/or
> a small amphora (aryabalos), presumably for oil. At least one of the
> Voynich nymphs holds a spindle-shaped object; although the details
> make it resemble a large flower, it could also be an amphora-like
> vessel, possibly miscopied.

So we may say that it is not unusual that a bathign person is depicted
while holding some sort of utensil in the hand. I agree with Stolfi
that in one of the pictures it really looks like a flower bulb. That
would be odd in a bathing scene, but not if the meaning of the VMs
illustration is more medicinal.

The other item (once compared to an ocarina) is still mysterious and
could easily represent some bathing tool.


Cheers, Rene