Friday, February 17, 2006

Nicholas Roerich noticed a device that spanned continents, cultures and epochs. For lack of a better term, I'm going to call it a modified trefoil:



-Madonna Oriflamma by Roehrich.

This was to be the standard of the Roerich Pact (essentially peace through cultural preservation). The three dots represent the common aspects of all cultures: Art, Science and Religion. The flags were to be flown in front of places of cultural importance (such as cathedrals).

Often called a Cultural Red Cross, I like to think of this as a precursor to the likes of UNESCO, and the symbol a more fitting one than the chicken foot we see so often nowadays at manifestations.

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This was what confused me about the PEM ad: same words, different languages.

(Thanks to Hal, who 'learned' me Roerich when I thought he was another aspect of Rockwell Kent.)

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