Spanish Rapiers, a Bilbo FYC.

fearn · 18th November 2008, 11:16 PM

Hi David,

Another debate?

Yes, I would be very happy if the small thing was a fleur-de-lys, aka an iris. That would solve a lot of problems, because it would be safely inside the symbol cannon of Europe.

Thing is, the artist took some trouble to put details into the picture that made me decide it wasn't a fleur-de-lys. That leads to two possible conclusions:

1. It's not a fleur-de-lys, or

2. It is supposed to be a fleur-de-lys, but the artist was so clueless about what a fleur-de-lys represents (an iris flower, which has six visible parts) as a three parted whatzis with two leaves underneath.

The second interpretation isn't impossible, as there are some fleur-de-lys images that could have been the model for this one.

Basically, the artist may have wanted the fleur-de-lys to look "realistic," but lacking any knowledge of what the fleur-de-lys represented, he didn't raid his wife's flower garden for an iris flower, but scratched out this figure instead. It certainly happens, and I can think of a few Hollywood movie sets that were decorated with the same lack of attention to detail.

Still, there is the possibility that the artist did know what he was trying to represent, in which case, it's not a fleur-de-lys, but something else.

Fun!

F

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18th November 2008, 11:16 PM	#26
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Hi David, Another debate? Yes, I would be very happy if the small thing was a fleur-de-lys, aka an iris. That would solve a lot of problems, because it would be safely inside the symbol cannon of Europe. Thing is, the artist took some trouble to put details into the picture that made me decide it wasn't a fleur-de-lys. That leads to two possible conclusions: 1. It's not a fleur-de-lys, or 2. It is supposed to be a fleur-de-lys, but the artist was so clueless about what a fleur-de-lys represents (an iris flower, which has six visible parts) as a three parted whatzis with two leaves underneath. The second interpretation isn't impossible, as there are some fleur-de-lys images that could have been the model for this one. Basically, the artist may have wanted the fleur-de-lys to look "realistic," but lacking any knowledge of what the fleur-de-lys represented, he didn't raid his wife's flower garden for an iris flower, but scratched out this figure instead. It certainly happens, and I can think of a few Hollywood movie sets that were decorated with the same lack of attention to detail. Still, there is the possibility that the artist did know what he was trying to represent, in which case, it's not a fleur-de-lys, but something else. Fun! F