Oratory ceiling, Hotel Lallemant, Bourges, France

Shell and scorpion, with the scorpion representing darkness and disgust, eating a scroll which is crossed over, with letter E all around, 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 is thought to represent mercury (the shell) needing the addition of sulphur or gold, with the wrapped scroll representing the crucible, although the meaning of the letter E is disputed. 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

Picture No

13437281

Media ID

45133980

Size

4146px x 4724px (5.8MB)

Credit

Manuel Cohen / Mary Evans

Source

Photograph by Manuel Cohen