Concentric rings of secrets, the philosophers' heaven mapped

A single great wheel of concentric rings fills the sheet, every band packed with close-set engraved script running around the circle — the four elements at the hub, the planetary metals and their operations spiralling outward, four small circles of zodiac symbols set at the corners. Beneath it a verse in a fine italic hand: Our heaven this Figure called is / Our table also of the lower Astronomy…, signed by the engraver John Goddard. Made for the 1652 printing of Ripley's alchemical writings, it is a complete philosophy compressed into one turning diagram.

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.