The ‘Ripley Scroll’, an early 17th century illustrated alchemical manuscript in English and Latin, sold for £480,000 at Christie’s (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) on December 13.
A mix of cryptic verse, legend and pictures, it is the only one of 23 known copies still in private hands.
A complex emblematic representation of the prime alchemical quest — the creation of a Philosopher’s Stone, the means of converting base material into gold – its composition is attributed to the foremost English alchemist, George Ripley (d.1490), an Augustinian canon at Bridlington in Yorkshire and author of The Compound of Alchemy.