Original Woodcut - Alchemy (The Python according to Nazari)

I have the honor to offer you on behalf of Czech Hermetics another of the woodcuts of my dear and noble friend, the Czech graphic artist D. L.

The template of this wood engraving is a woodcut from the second edition of Giovanni Battista Nazari’s book Della tramutatione metallica sogni tre published by Pietro M. Marcheti in Brescia in 1572. The title of this alchemical treatise can be translated as Three Dreams on the Transmutation of Metals. The motif of a dream is quite frequent in alchemical literature, since dreams were considered by alchemists as a privileged means of attaining knowledge. Other treatises featuring the dream motif are Trevisan’s Green Dream, Colonna’s Hypnerotomachia
Poliphili (to which Nazari’s book refers), Treatise on Sulphur by Michael Sendivogius, The Vision by John Dustin or Hermes Unveiled by the 19th century unknown Adept C(yliani).

Nazari’s treatise is divided into three parts, each describing one dream about a specific kind of transmutation: sophistical transmutation, useful transmutation or Royal Ordinary, and Royal Philosophical or divine transmutation. It is this third type of transmutation that is the subject of this illustration through the symbolical depiction of alchemical Mercury.

This wood engraving was printed by hand on Japanese paper / or on Fabriano paper). The mat is made of hand-printed calico paper by Calico, Praha; the inner panels are out of BM 9 handmarbled paper by Cockerell Marbled Papers in Cambridge. This studio was closed in 2012 after an existence spanning over a century, but its products remain among the best marbled papers ever made. The print was stamped by the block-cutter himself (Prague monogrammist D. L.).

Subject of the offer:

New signed hand-made art print of woodcut from one of contemporary Czech Hermetic - Artist (one sheet of nice yellowish paper).
Size of paper sheet: 210×290mm
Size of art-print: 125×225mm.

LAST PIECE IN STOCK.

NOTE: If you have a problem ordering via PayPal, please write me your order by e-mail [email protected] and we will find another solution together.

Share