Elogium XXVII: Aegypti Prisca Sapientia (Obelisk of Ferdinand III)

The image features a central obelisk covered in rows of invented, pseudo-Egyptian hieroglyphic symbols, including birds, lions, plant stalks, and geometric shapes. The obelisk is capped with an imperial double-headed eagle and rests upon a pedestal inscribed with a dedication to Ferdinand III. Flanking the obelisk are two blocks of dense Latin text, which synthesize Hermetic philosophy with contemporary political panegyric, framing the Emperor as a divine, wise ruler and a 'Good Genius' of the state.

This print is from Kircher's 'Oedipus Aegyptiacus' (1652), a massive attempt to decipher hieroglyphs as a repository of universal, primordial 'prisca sapientia'. It reflects the 17th-century Jesuit intellectual project of harmonizing Catholic imperial power with ancient occult and Hermetic traditions.