The Age-Old Chemical Work

R. ABRAHAMI ELEAZARIS URALTES CHYMISCHES WERCK (ERFURT, 1735)

British Library

Nicolas Flamel's reputation as an alchemist derives ultimately from posthumous accounts of his life. According to these 16th- and 17th-century legends, Flamel had a prophetic dream that led him to discover a rare manuscript revealing the true composition of the Philosopher's Stone. First published in Germany in 1735, the Uraltes Chymisches Werck (‘Age-Old Chemical Work’), reputedly by the rabbi Abraham Eleazar, claimed to be a translation of this lost text. In this picture, a serpent and a crowned dragon form a circle, head-to-tail. This is a common alchemical illustration, which symbolises the unification of materia (primary matter) with spiritus universalis (the universal spirit). This unification was considered essential in the creation of the Stone.

“Although scholars continue to debate whether the work is genuine and question whether Eleazar even existed, the ‘Age-Old Chemical Work’ nevertheless attempts to show how to make the Philosopher's Stone.”

Alexander Lock
Curator