- Green Vitriol, Minium, "Green Lion". Modern samples
- Curatorial Notes:
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- Ripley’s authentic writings describe two stones: a transmuting “mineral stone '' made by subliming mercury and green vitriol (modern iron sulfate), and a medicinal “vegetable stone” made from red lead (modern lead tetraoxide). Vitriol was an ingredient in the manufacture of mineral acids, used in goldsmithing and metallurgy. Red lead, or minium, was widely used as a pigment. In the Scroll, the two stones are represented by red and green lions, guarding the furnace mouth. English alchemists also interpreted the “green lion” as a gum made by dissolving lead and copper compounds in distilled vinegar—here recreated in a modern reconstruction.
- Credit Line:
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- Courtesy of Lawrence M. Principe
- Identifier:
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- ark:/88435/dc3x816x93f