Thermal Automata and Kinetic Figures

The top half (fig. 1) shows a glass-walled box containing a central candle; above the flame, a spiral ramp winds upward, featuring various tiny figures including people, a dog, a horse, a tree, and a ship. The bottom half (fig. 2) shows a glass cylinder enclosing a central shaft topped by a fire; at the base of this shaft, a cross-shaped mechanism supports pairs of small figures, dressed in 17th-century attire, performing a dance as the device rotates. The style is that of a scientific engraving, with clean lines used to delineate the glass enclosures and the mechanical elements within.

This print originates from Robert Fludd's 'Utriusque Cosmi Maioris scilicet et Minoris metaphysica, physica atque technica Historia' (1617–1619), a foundational work of Hermetic philosophy that attempts to map the macrocosm and microcosm through natural philosophy and mechanical invention.