A rare scroll depicting the story of the philosopher's stone has been unearthed by the Science Museum.
The 18th Century scroll was discovered by Cate Watson, an assistant at the Science Museum Library when she was checking the museum's catalogues. She found a listing for an "alchemical" scroll, which has since been confirmed by Jennifer Rampling from Cambridge University as a Ripley scroll. This is the 23rd Ripley scroll to be discovered -- all of which are named after a 15th Century English alchemist called George Ripley. "The scrolls are believed to be 18th Century copies and variations of a lost, 15th Century original," adds the Science Museum.
The last scroll to go to auction was sold by Sotheby's in the 1980s for around £135,000 but what is deemed to be the finest scroll in the series, the Fitzwilliam Museum's scroll, is estimated to be worth £250,000.
This latest scroll is more than six meters long and, says
the Science Museum, features an intricate series of hand painted images, which are "thought to symbolise the various stages of the creation of the philosopher's stone -- an alchemical substance said to be capable of turning base metals such as lead into gold or silver -- the basis of Western alchemy". However, it is also believed to be incomplete as it features pictures but there are spaces where the verse should be. The creators also remain unknown with just "FREND" and "J. Johannes" written on the scroll as clues.
The scroll will be on show during an exhibition called Signs, Symbols, Secrets: an illustrated guide to alchemy, which opens at the Science Museum on 27 April. There will also be more than 20 historical books and two illustrated manuscripts from the Science Museum's Library and Archives collections on show.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
