Collection of Alchemical Manuscripts

original: "39. Proiectio."

This alchemical illustration, rendered in ink and wash, is mounted onto a larger page within ruled borders. A flowing, decorative banner at the top contains the text 39. Projection. Below the banner, a round-bottomed glass flask, known as a cucurbit, features a tall neck and a textured, conical stopper. A large sphere with a swirling, marbled texture sits inside the vessel. The right side of the flask is depicted as breaking open or dissolving. Dark, stylized plumes of smoke or vapor billow out from this rupture, symbolizing the release of the material's transformative power.

Projection: This is the final or penultimate stage of the Great Work. During this process, the concentrated alchemical "medicine" or Philosopher's Stone is cast upon a base metal to achieve an instantaneous transformation into gold or silver.
original: "Proiectio"
Projection: a chemical operation where a small amount of the perfected substance is "projected" or thrown into a crucible of molten metal to change its nature.

Alchemy: A philosophical and early scientific tradition. It focuses on the purification and perfection of matter, often through the symbolic death and rebirth of chemical substances.