This alchemical drawing appears in a German manuscript belonging to the Wellcome Library in London. Its title, “Gemma Sapientiae et Prudentiae,” translates, roughly, to “Gems of Wisdom and Prudence.” Here, alchemy is formulated as an occult science in which the transformation of base metals into gold serves as a metaphor for the purification of the soul.
Credit Line: Image by the Wellcome Library, London (CC BY 4.0).