Monkey Alchemist, 17th Century

An monkey-alchemist pumps a bellows in a laboratory; alluding to the vanity of alchemy. Alchemy is a philosophical and protoscientific tradition practiced throughout Europe, Africa, Brazil and Asia. It aimed to purify, mature, and perfect certain objects. Common aims were chrysopoeia, the transmutation of base metals into gold; the creation of an elixir of immortality; the creation of panaceas able to cure any disease; and the development of an alkahest, a universal solvent. The perfection of the human body and soul was thought to permit or result from the alchemical magnum opus and, in the Hellenistic and western tradition, the achievement of gnosis. In Europe, the creation of a philosopher's stone was variously connected with all of these projects. Engraving by J.P. Le Bas after David Teniers, 1650s

Restrictions Only for Ireland and United Kingdom

1650s Alchemist Alchemy Anthropomorphism Bellows Elixir Furnace Panaceas Transmutation

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