Credence, Oratory, Hotel Lallemant, Bourges, France

Credence carved with many symbols related to alchemy, such as balls of fire, dolphins, a shell representing mercury, rose and cornucopia and the mysterious letters RERE (possibly related to genealogy and found repeatedly on Lallemant family prayer books and objects), in the Lallemant family chapel in the Oratory of the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. Fulcanelli wrote extensively on the significance of the letters R and E in terms of alchemy, with RE being dry and wet matters and RERE double matters. The sculptural decoration on the building, made by both French and Italian sculptors, has been interpreted by Fulcanelli and others as having an alchemical symbolism. Since 1951 the building has housed the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and it was listed as a historic monument in 1840. Picture by Manuel Cohen

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1495-1518 Alchemical Alchemy Alchimie Bourges Centre-val Cher Cornucopia Credence Decoratifs Dolphin Eucharist Fulcanelli Genealogy Initial Interpretation Lallemand Lallemant Mercury Niche Oratory Plenty Pomegranate Sacrament Symbolism

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