Oratory ceiling, Hotel Lallemant, Bourges, France

Lion's head with a vase, tipping due to the tearing of a string held in the lion's mouth, from the coffered ceiling of the Oratory, carved in stone with 30 sections, each relating to a process in alchemy, in the Hotel Lallemant, a mansion built 1495-1518 in French Renaissance style by the Lallemant merchant family, in Bourges, Centre Val de Loire, France. This section represents the successful fixing of sulphur and the warning of not pushing the multiplication of elements too far (the lion still holds the string). 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 Alchemist Alchemy Alchimie Bourges Centre-val Cher Coffered Crucible Decoratifs Element Fixing Fulcanelli Interpretation Lallemand Lallemant Multiplication Oratory String Sulphur Symbolism Tipping

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