Plate 8 from Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae, Solius, Verae [Amphitheatre of the Only True Eternal Wisdom]
- 1609
Plate 8 of Khunrath Heinrich's (1560-1605) Amphitheatrum Sapientiae, purportedly one of the most significant books of theosophical alchemy and the occult sciences. Though the title page reads 1602, the book was not published until 1609. Erasmus Wohlfahrt edited and published the manuscript following Heinrich's death in 1605. Wohlfahrt also added a preface and conclusion. The work contains masterful engravings, remarkable for their execution as well as alchemical symbolism. Nine double-paged copperplate engravings, a title page, and a frontispiece can be found in the digital collections.
The detailed engraving depicts a birds-eye view of a landscape. Figures walk around a large, circular maze filled with text. Inside the maze, an inner wall in the shape of a seven-pointed star wall surrounds a moat. Across the moat is another wall in the shape of a septagon with spade-like protrusions at each point. At the center of the space delineated by this interior wall, a dragon sits atop a tall hill or mountain.
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Cite as
Khunrath, Heinrich. “Plate 8 from Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae, Solius, Verae [Amphitheatre of the Only True Eternal Wisdom].” In Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae Solius Verae. Hanau, Germany: Wilhelm Antonius, 1609. https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/8k71nh10x.
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