Oratory ceiling, Hotel Lallemant, Bourges, France

Winged cherub with a coquille St-Jacques shell resting on fire, symbol of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, of secrets, of the feminine principle of mercury and of the crucible, so this relief represents the joining of mercury and fire in the processes of alchemy, 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. 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 Cherub Coffered Compostela Coquille Crucible Decoratifs Fulcanelli Interpretation Lallemand Lallemant Mercury Oratory Pilgrim Pilgrimage Santiago Symbolism

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