Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31953/sz.44.1.18
A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF THE ICONOGRAPHIC MOTIF OF THE TREE OF THE WORLD/LIFE ON THE MIRILO OF SOUTHERN VELEBIT
MIRJANA TROŠELJ
Abstract
Presented in the paper is the iconographic-symbolic structure of the ideogram of the arbor
mundi (cosmic tree, tree of the world/life) on the mirilište (resting place) of Kosa Renjovačka
halfway between the settlement of Reljinovac/Renjovac and the Ljubotić cemetery. The ideograms
are analysed stylistically-morphologically on the mirilo monuments and in the funeral art on one
headstone of a drystone wall type mirilo grave at the Ljubotić cemetery, and on two grave slabs
at the Lun cemetery on the island of Pag. They are analogously compared with the motifs of
the same or similar iconographic characteristics from the wider geographic area. The question
of the image of the tree of the world in Podgorje primarily sets the question of the reconstruction
of its traditional religious-symbolic meaning, both on the mirilo monuments and on the funeral
monuments. Being that the aim of this paper is to show the ideogram of the tree of the world
as one of the visual motifs which to date has not been documented in literature about the visual
representations of the southern Velebit mirilište (resting places), it is not possible to give a final
answer to the question of understanding its image until the beginning of the 20th century.
Keywords
tree of the world (arbor mundi); mirilo; southern Velebit/southern Pogorje; Ljubotić cemetery; Lun cemetery
Hrčak ID:
192282
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2017.
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