Eternity “sirens”
While the next images aren’t sirens, specifically, their resemblance to the two tailed siren is unmistakable. These fascinating images of a woman, encircled with a star-covered tail that has no end, were created by Francesco Barberini and Cesare Ripa, both Italian, in the 1300s-1500s. In An Inquiry into Sirens from Homer to Shakespeare, Rachewiltz compares her to the ouroboros, the snake eating its own tail.
This image of a woman in blue, with gold stars, is from the Documenti d’amore by Francesco da Barberino, written between 1309 and 1315. The book is written for an upper-class, male audience, and I’m going to quote a review of the book to explain what it’s about:
“The Documenti d'amore (or, roughly translated, Precepts of Love) is an extremely erudite collection of allusions, quotations, anecdotes and compilations of homespun witticisms and conventional wisdom, designed ostensibly to provide instruction to men on the social graces and the acquisition of culture.” (Papio)
The lessons are allegorical, and Eternity is 12, where our first eternity “siren” is.
Cesare Ripa borrowed this image for his own allegorical book. Emblems are books heavy with symbolism, with an image accompanied by often cryptic text, and Andrea Alciato’s, first published in 1531, was the first of its kind. Often, the stories have a type of moral or allegory. Cesare Ripa’s Iconologia, first printed in 1593, is the epitome of emblem books. In the 1603 edition, he reimagines Barberino’s image of eternity: A woman with stars instead of scales, holding two balls aloft.
Eternity emblem. From Iconologia. by Cesare Ripa, 1603. Via archive.org.
Like the alchemy siren, there’s a number of editions and versions of the eternity symbol. For a complication of Ripa’s eternity symbol, check out the database at Laboratory of Computer Methodologies for Art History, University of Pisa. But because I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole, I’m going to show you my favorites.
Ripa, 1645, National Library of France.
Ripa, 1644. I like the placement of the stars over her nipples. Also, her “tails” are crossed from the other direction. From the Laboratory of Computer Methodologies for Art History, University of Pisa.
Ripa, 1699. She looks like she is so done with your shit. From the Laboratory of Computer Methodologies for Art History, University of Pisa
For our last Ripa eternity symbol, I’m going to quote Rachewiltz:
“The celestial “Siren” of Eternity is depicted on a stone slab in the lower righthand corner of the engraving. She appears to be guarding the entrance to a cave which Phoebus Apollo is approaching and in which Demogorgon (the progenitor of all the gods, according to Boccacio’s Genealogia) is seated, writing down the laws of the universe on a tablet.”
Ripa, 1701. From Baroque and Rococo Pictorial Imagery: The 1758-60 Hertel Edition of Ripa's 'Iconologia' with 200 Engraved Illustrations.
Ripa wasn’t the only one who borrowed this eternity symbol. Here she is in a 1612 emblem book, floating above the water and boats:
Image from page 165 of "Minerua Britanna, or, A garden of heroical deuises, furnished, and adorned with emblemes and impresa's of sundry natures : newly devised, moralized, and published." (1612) Image via Flickr.
She was used as a printer’s device by Lodovico Grignani, an Italian printer:
Eternity "siren" as printer's mark, Lodovico Grignani, 1586-1651. University of Barcelona. Two tailed sirens are common printer’s marks, so this evolution makes sense.
Here’s a lovely version from 1647:
Tetius, Hieronymus, and Anthony Blunt. Aedes Barberinae Ad Qvirinalem. Sumptibus Philippi de Rubeis, 1647. Page 44, via Internet Archive.
Our final eternity “siren” is from 1640, and is an updated version of Documenti d’amore by Francesco da Barberino, with new illustrations. She has remained mostly unchanged over three centuries: still holding the orbs aloft, long hair streaming over shoulders, encircled by stars. This version has her emerging from clouds, and looks larger than life, looming over the landscape below.
Eternity symbol, Francesco da Barberino, 1640. Internet Archive. Page 399.
And hat tip to the blogger Jose Chamorro for posting the image so I could find it!
I hope you enjoyed this rabbit hole of research as much as I enjoyed falling into it. But time to pull myself out. I have so many tabs open right now
Sources
Papio, Michael. "Francesco da Barberino. I documenti d'amore (Documenta amoris)." Annali d'Italianistica, vol. 28, annual 2010, pp. 499+. Gale Academic.
Scanned version is available via the Vatican Library. 95v-96r. “eternità”
Confession: I was trying to locate something that explained what Barberini’s book was about, so I could say something about his eternity symbol. But all I could find are books in Italian several countries away from me, so I’m letting this one go.
For information about what the eternity “siren" represents, see pages 229-231, Rachewiltz, Siegfried de. De Sirenibus: An Inquiry into Sirens from Homer to Shakespeare. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1987. Fig 46, Figure 48.
For the image, see: Ripa, Cesare. Iconologia. 1603. 9/4/2013. archive.org
For a complication of Ripa’s eternity symbol, see the website at Laboratory of Computer Methodologies for Art History, University of Pisa.
For the image of the twin-tailed eternity siren on a slab: Ripa, Cesare. Baroque and Rococo Pictorial Imagery: The 1758-60 Hertel Edition of Ripa's 'Iconologia' with 200 Engraved Illustrations. Translated by Edward A. Maser. New York: Publisher, 1971.
Image from page 165 of "Minerua Britanna, or, A garden of heroical deuises, furnished, and adorned with emblemes and impresa's of sundry natures : newly devised, moralized, and published" (1612) Flickr.
Eternity siren as printer’s device. Grignani, Lodovico, 1586-1651. ID: 13061148b Device: Dona amb dues esferes les cames de la qual formen un cel estelat University of Barcelona.
Book info: Abeja Barberina : panegyrico a la Santidad de N. Señor Vrbano VIII, Pontifice Maximo y a los Eminmos. y Excellmos. señores de la casa Barberina ... Atribucions escriviole don Alexandro Domingo de Ros Editor En Roma : por Luys Griñani, 1639 Lloc d'impressió : Itàlia Roma
