Claude,

Here ia excerpts from a conversation I had with a friend of mine about this
very subject.

Belinda Bohnert
Nursing Matters
Breastpump Sales & Rental
Indianapolis Indiana

<< If you have some time for a little bit of fascinating reading, this
 site, http://www.hypertext.com/pz/chapter1.html covers breastfeeding as
 it is portrayed by early artists, especially biblical painters.  Pretty
 fascinating - they cover a couple of greek artists, and I can concur
 that I see plenty of flesh in the greek church. >>

>>>From that website about the significance of the p/z gesture
Preliminary hypothesis

                   In addition to their stylistic differences regarding
the gesture, five of the six paintings share the primary
                   theme of lactation in which breast-milk is
transferred from a goddess to an immature god or adult human
                   male, which also presupposes the overt display of the
breast, or ostentatio mammarum. From this small
                   arbitrary sampling an introductory hypothesis is
proposed regarding the significance of the p/z gesture, that
                   is: that the pseudo-zygodactylous gesture is a
religious symbol signifying the giving--or requesting--of
                   spiritual life as salvation or immortality used by
males and females alike, based on the maternal
                   relationship of mother and child in which the display
of the breast and giving of breast-milk by the mother
                   goddess means the gift of physical and metaphysical
life to her child/ children. It will therefore be argued
                   that the pseudo-zygodactylous gesture plays a
significant role as a mode of communication in the
                   hierarchical relationships within religious economies
of spiritual salvation. From the above arbitrary
                   sampling of paintings, further subdivisions of the
general theme of lactation can be made by: (a) type of
                   contact, e.g,, breast/mouth, breast/hand, direct
(body-body)/indirect (body-space-body), (b) the receiver of
                   milk, (c) purpose of lactation, and (d) number of
individuals involved in the encounter.

                   Such a description of the lactation paintings by
these subdivisions provides us with a better structural view
                   of the paintings:

                       1.direct (nipple to mouth) mother goddess to
god-child nursing (maternal dyad) for physical
                          nourishment;
                       2.indirect (milk projected from breast through
space to mouth/s) goddess to adult humans
                          (multiple/communal dyad) for relief of their
pain or to gain their salvation;
                       3.direct/indirect goddess to unrelated human
child nursing in order to make the child immortal and
                          thereby into a god, and to spiritually adopt
the child (spiritual dyad);47
                       4.no contact, no milk expressed (no lactation) by
the goddess who uses the gesture placed to her breast
                          (exposed/unexposed) to intercede between a
higher god and (the) human being/s to request life and
                          salvation (triad); and
                       5.indirect contact between goddess and a holy
adult human male (saint) as a blessing, as symbolic
                          adoption, and as an affirmation of the male's
sanctity (spiritual dyad).

                          Because the painting of the caballero has no
lactation theme visible, an additional category after the
                          others shall be assigned to it in order to
qualify and open the search for the gesture outside of explicit
                          lactation and in order to test the gestures
that may appear against the relationship to lactation.
                          Subdivisions of this theme of 'salvation
gesture' will be: (a) gender of gesturer, (b) god/dess,
                          'saint'/demigod, or mortal (c) location and
manner of placement of gesture to body (e.g., on chest,
                          outwards to the side, etc.), (c) purpose of
gesture, and (d) relationship to other individuals in the
                          scene. Thus,

                       6.pseudo-zygodactylous gesture, no lactation, no
direct or indirect physical contact, and usually no
                          other person present.

                   To test this hypothesis we shall examine relevant
material relating to the physical and metaphysical aspects
                   of breast-feeding, breast-milk, and breasts in both
secular and religious literature and art. Images of
                   lactation, the breast, and the pseudo-zygodactylous
gesture in general will be examined for the manner of
                   use of the p/z gesture and then juxtaposed alongside
the subdivisions given above in order to determine
                   whether, and if so, how, there is a corresponding
relationship between the pseudo-zygodactylous gesture,
                   lactation, and metaphysical life.