SOPHIA: The vestibule of Wisdom

If the Lady De Mohun Room is an architectural poem around the theme of the judgement of Paris - who chose between love, power and wisdom - and the two doorways from there representing love and power lead to the Great Hall - a room of family - then the third and last doorway out of the Lady De Mohun Room must lead instead to a room of wisdom...

This tiny vestibule, 4 inches wide and 8 inches long, is a work in progress. What do I think is the nature of wisdom? And how can I represent that as a miniature interior?

I wanted the downward-dog-performing cat in the room to show that for me, the principles of yoga - linking mind, body and breath - are key to the beginning of wisdom. The cat's black and white coat against the black and white floor say something about my mind's propensity to a dualistic view of the world - yin and yang - but a cat in a 'downward dog' position surely suggests that nothing is black and white!

The owl, always a wise creature in Western culture, is the link to Minerva/Athene in the Judgement of Paris myth, but together with the pussy cat, also suggests that searching for wisdom can sometimes be enjoyable nonesense, as the 1871 nonesense poem by Edward Lear, The Owl And The Pussycat.

It is significant in my mind that the vestibule of wisdom, named Sophia after the Greek (and Christian mystical, poetical idol), should link the castle's main entrance to the wine cellar! The other doorway also link wisdom to the Kitchen and to food. A Turtle (the Chinese animal representing wisdom, Ugue) will hang above the kitchen door leading to the vestibule. Turtle shells were often displayed in kitchens as a sign of wealth. 

The style of the vestibule - beamed ceiling and wall, with stone walls too and tapestries - is based partly on Baddesley Clinton and partly on Snowshill (below). These old Tudor beams seem to resonate with the wisdom of the ages to me.