IN HOC SIGNO: Art, Geometry, and the Renaissance
We recently welcomed heritage consultants Byrga Geniht back to Soulton Hall for a private viewing of In Hoc Signo, an extraordinary two-part sculpture that illuminates the geometric harmony embedded within the Hall’s Renaissance design. This gilded bronze sculpture work, a 2024 collaboration by James D. Wenn, James Syrett, and sculptor Jacob Chandler, posits and interpretation of Constantine’s vision through intersecting beams of light, which invite the viewer to think about identical rhombic dodecahedrons being formed as a kind of hologram. The title, referencing Constantine’s vision and the Christogram IHS, invites viewers to mentally construct these hidden forms. In Hoc Signo suggests true harmony lies not in the physical object, but in the Platonic realm of forms, accessed through perspective. Like the “sermons in stones” at Soulton, this artwork acts as a social allegory, promoting respect, inclusivity, and the responsibility of leadership to foster a just social order.
This cubic interpretation of “IN HOC SIGNO,” situated in Soulton Hall’s Epidaurus Court, powerfully demonstrates the underlying geometric harmony present in both the artwork and the surrounding architecture.
Placing the cubic version of In Hoc Signo with the auseklis near the Hall reveals how the Tudor building’s 9-grid design is set before the viewer just as the sculpture’s tower-like projections and string courses do. This invites the viewer to envision the 8-pointed star auseklis on the cube’s faces, echoing the dance in As You Like It. From this emerges a central tilted square, the central square of the grid with projecting triangles, a quarter of each of the outer squares.
Sir Rowland Hill’s Renaissance code interprets the tilted square as a “cookie-cutter” or beam of light passing through the Hall, referencing three intersecting beams at 90 degrees. These represent the x, y, and z axes of the 3D Cartesian coordinate system: depth, height, and width. These perpendicular vectors meet within Soulton Hall, creating a “floating” rhombic dodecahedron you can build in your mind. In Hoc Signo’s cube version also depicts these intersecting beams above the house.
This concept is also evident in the unique window mullions of Soulton Hall and Thomas Tresham’s Lyveden New Build.
This cubic “IN HOC SIGNO,” positioned within Old Sir Rowland’s Studiolo, highlights a remarkable architectural detail: unique block intersections. These same intersections are echoed only at Tresham’s Lyveden New Building, demonstrating a common appreciation for geometric principles.
A similar rhombic dodecahedron is formed in the mid with the assistance of the other gilded bronze work in In Hoc Signo, based on an octahedron (which you can also think of as tow square based pyramids placed together on their bases), where four beams of octagonal light within two create the same form.
The octahedron-based sculpture of “In Hoc Signo” also generates a rhombic dodecahedron, this time with hexagonal beams, The artwork shares knwoing this with Soulton’s lost pyramidal roof and Sir Rowland Hill’s sea chest.
The original Tudor Soulton building demonstrated this knowledge in its lost pyramidal roof (copied at Bachegraig and St Mary Abchurch) and Sir Rowland Hill’s sea chest.
Scholarly reconstruction of Soulton Hall in accession created by James D. Wenn and James R. Syrett of Byrga Geniht Ltd for Soulton Hall in 2024
Both the pyramidal/octahedron and cube versions invite the mental construction of a rhombic dodecahedron, linked to the Holy Almandal.
The Almandal, often subject to confusing interpretations, is best understood as a mathematical teaching tool within the intellectual, art historical, and architectural tradition.
The octahedron “IN HOC SIGNO” at Soulton Hall: Imagine the lost pyramidal roof above to understand how the building and the art share a common geometric language.
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A linked idea to this artwork invites the viewer to consider relates to Ezekiel’s vision, which is often interpreted symbolically and poetically. One interpretation connects it to the dodecahedron. Its complexity and symmetry could symbolize the intricate nature of the vision and how the form can be made. The dodecahedron’s association with wholeness and a “quintessence” aligns with the vision’s mystical elements. This interpretation offers a geometric framework for understanding Ezekiel’s prophecy, though it remains one of many.
In Plato’s cosmology, the dodecahedron held a unique and revered position. Unlike the other Platonic solids, which Plato associated with the classical elements, the dodecahedron represented something far grander: the universe itself. Its twelve rhombic faces, forming the most complex and symmetrical of these geometric forms, symbolized the harmony and perfection of the cosmos. Plato believed the universe was structured according to mathematical principles, and the dodecahedron, with its intricate geometry, was a key to unlocking this cosmic order. Some interpretations even suggest Plato linked the dodecahedron to the “quintessence,” a fifth element or ether permeating the celestial realm, further emphasizing its divine connection. For Plato, the dodecahedron wasn’t merely a shape; it was a bridge between the tangible world of elements and the intangible realm of forms and ideas. Contemplating its form offered insight into the fundamental principles governing the universe, making it a powerful symbol of cosmic order and perfection.
