S. Worthen | Weblog

I have never seen anything so wonderfully appropriate for me as this: a box decorated for me by my fellow scholar in Temperance studies, suffisaunce. It is lovely and vivid, colorful and cheerful, and full of relevant iconographic richness. I love it so much! Thank you!

Consider the top panel, shown above. I'm quite certain that's me pictured there, in the guise of a personification of Temperance, identified by red hair and crowned with the laurels of graduation. She cleverly uses letters to distinguish the cardinal virtues, with the T for Temperance labeling the central figure, and F (Fortitude), J (Justice), and P (Prudence) hovering around. The windmill on one side and the mask-like glasses on the other are two of Temperance's attributes. Just below the glasses is what is either a sundial or a face; if it's a sundial, it's standing in for all the varied timepieces which are also used as her attributes. If it's a face, it's one of four on the front of the box, either the other cardinal virtues or perhaps Temperance's dependent virtues.

( The other sides... )