Alchemical Furnace of Augustus of Saxony in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, February 2020

Title: Alchemical Furnace of Augustus, Elector of Saxony

Date: ca. 1575

Culture: German, Dresden

Medium: Brass (cast, chased, engraved), steel (engraved), chamotte

Dimensions: 14 7/8 × 13 9/16 × 13 9/16 in., 66.1 lb. (37.8 × 34.5 × 34.5 cm, 30 kg)

Classification: Tools

Credit Line: Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

This furnace is the only surviving instrument from the alchemical laboratory founded by Elector Augustus in 1556. It was designed for assaying, heating metallic bodies to determine the proportions of their constituent metals, a process used in both mining operations and efforts to make gold. Alchemists believed occult connections between the heavens and the earth influenced the development of ore. Accordingly, the furnace features the seven planetary gods and their metallic counterparts, most prominently the sun, the moon, and Mercury. That triad reflects the recurrence of gold, silver, and mercury as main ingredients in alchemical recipes.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/765764