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Alchimie des Philosophes
#85896
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“THIS ENLIGHTENED UNDERSTANDING OF THE UNIVERSE IS THE BE-ALL AND END-ALL OF ALL ADEPTS”: ALCHEMY OF THE PHILOSOPHERS, ONE OF ONLY 275 PORTFOLIOS PRODUCED, WITH TEN SPLENDID ELEPHANT FOLIO MIXED MEDIA ETCHINGS, EACH NUMBERED AND SIGNED BY SALVADOR DALÍDALI, Salvador. Alchimie des Philosophes. Textes et manuscrits alchimiques anciens repris en fac-similé. Traductions originales inédits en français et anglais. Paris: Editions Art et Valeur, 8 Juillet 1976. Elephant folio, ten large original etchings on vellum reworked in drypoint, with lithography and silkscreen printing, each measuring 22-1/2 by 30-1/4 inches, loose as issued in protective sleeves. Housed together with two text volumes: the original alchemical texts in facsimile and accompanying translations, each 15 by 22 inches, signatures loose as issued in cloth portfolios. Together housed in original leather-covered hinged box with decorative wheel measuring 25 by 32-1/2 by 8 inches. $52,000.Limited and only edition, this copy number 187 of only 225 massive portfolios produced with the text in English and French, containing ten large original mixed media etchings on parchment incorporating precious and semi-precious stones, each print numbered and signed by Dalí. Housed in the original hinged multi-compartment leather-covered box. Additionally signed in ink by Dalí on the limitation page.These ten splendid mixed-media original etchings—each of which incorporates semi-precious and precious stones into the design—illustrate various alchemical writings and concepts collected from Chinese, Indian, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew and other traditions over a span of 1500 years. In addition, each of the six chapters of text is preceded by an original drawing by Dalí reproduced by screenprint. Adorning the center of the front cover of the portfolio is a movable wheel containing mercury, a feature conceived of by Dalí after the theme of Raymond Lulle’s Roues Combinatoires (Combinative Wheels). The ten vibrantly colored plates, rendered in Dalí characteristic style, each measure 22 by 30 inches, and are printed on specially prepared parchment. “For each original print, the artist had to make three different works, combined and superimposed through the processes of lithography, serigraphy and copperplate engraving… the parchment appears on a lighted table as stained glass thanks to its transparency.” The plates depict classic alchemical symbols: The Emerald Table, The Angel of Alchemy, The Yin and the Yang, Immortality, the Tree of Life, The Ouroboros, The Labyrinth, The Philosopher’s Crucible, The Phoenix, The King and the Queen. Number 187 of 225 in French and English, from a total edition of 275. An accompanying booklet provides a brief description of each plate. Michler-Löpsinger 835-844.A fine copy of this very rare and beautiful work.
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