A golden winged bird on the globe beneath a raining sun

A tall strip of illuminated vellum. At the top, a red lion and a golden lion face each other across a pillar; below them a sun with a human face pours golden droplets down the length of the sheet like rain. At the centre the Bird of Hermes — gold-feathered, wings raised, a small crowned human head — stands on a grey sphere wrapped in cloud, its motto written beneath. The whole panel is bordered on both sides by scrolling acanthus in red, green and gold, and closes at the foot with a black-and-gold sunburst. From an English Ripley Scroll, the emblem-cycle of the Great Work copied by hand for two centuries.

George Ripley (c. 1415–1490) was an Augustinian canon of Bridlington and England's most celebrated alchemist, author of The Compound of Alchymy. The emblematic scrolls and wheels that carry his name were copied by hand for two centuries after his death — dense, gorgeous puzzle-pictures in which the making of the philosopher's stone is hidden in dragons, birds and spheres.

Printed as a museum-grade giclée on Hahnemühle fine art paper using 12-ink archival pigment printing. Available handframed in FSC-certified wood with optional float glass, or unframed. Ships worldwide with free delivery to 30+ countries.