Medieval Armor Crest Featuring Alchemy Symbols for Gold & Silver; 12"; 3.7 ozs

Description

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J. EDWARD McWILLIAMS BA English Cornell, MSED SUNY
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ITEM
: Medieval Armor Crest Featuring Combined Symbols for Gold & Silver; 12 inches long; Weighs  3.7 Ounces
This is the Crest Plate from a Medieval Set of Armor Featuring a Rounded Trefoil Crosse with an Eastern Slavic Christian Crest.
It Took Me a While to Figure Out What the Crest Actually Means. Turns Out it's a Combination of Alchemy Symbols taken from the "Syllabæ Chymicæ" for Gold & Silver (See RESEARCH below on "SYMBOLS OF THE ALCHEMISTS AND THEIR SIGNIFICATIONS).
The Dot in a Circle, or Symbol for Gold, is Combined with Horns, or Symbol for Silver, to Signify "evolution from an imperfect, diseased, corruptible, and ephemeral state toward a perfect, healthy, incorruptible, and everlasting state. [Martin Luther applauded Alchemy for its consistency with Christian teachings.]
Applied to the alchemist himself, the twin goal symbolized his evolution from ignorance to enlightenment" (Compliments of Wikipedia's Explanation for Alchemy). This Approach highlighted "the spiritual nature of the alchemical quest, symbolic of a religious regeneration of the human soul" (Ibid).
(Insofar as the Research is Concerned, Tis Good I Wert an English Major as an Undergrad.)
NOTE: Across the Back is Scrawled Some Sort of Identification in Black Ink; We presume it was Placed There by the Person or Party from Whom We Originally made the Acquisition. As a Rule, We do Not make Changes to the Condition of Items in Our Charge, So there it Remains...
Minimal Surface Wear its Age; Please See Illustrations.
RESEARCH
COMPLIMENTS OF WIKIPEDIA / EXPLANATION OF ALCHEMY
Relation to Hermeticism
Hermeticism
is a religious and philosophical tradition based primarily upon writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus ("Thrice Great").
In the eyes of a variety of esoteric and
Hermetic
practitioners, the heart of alchemy is spiritual. Transmutation of lead into gold is presented as an analogy for personal transmutation, purification, and perfection.
[8]
This approach is often termed 'spiritual', 'esoteric', or 'internal' alchemy.
[
by whom?
]
Early alchemists, such as
Zosimos of Panopolis
(c. AD 300), highlight the spiritual nature of the alchemical quest, symbolic of a religious regeneration of the human soul.
[17]
This approach continued in the Middle Ages, as metaphysical aspects, substances, physical states, and material processes were used as metaphors for
spiritual entities
, spiritual states, and, ultimately, transformation. In this sense, the literal meanings of 'Alchemical Formulas' were a blind, hiding their true
spiritual philosophy
. Practitioners and patrons such as
Melchior Cibinensis
and
Pope Innocent VIII
existed within the ranks of the church, while
Martin Luther
applauded alchemy for its consistency with Christian teachings.
[18]
Both the transmutation of common metals into gold and the universal panacea symbolized evolution from an imperfect, diseased, corruptible, and ephemeral state toward a perfect, healthy, incorruptible, and everlasting state, so the philosopher's stone then represented a mystic key that would make this evolution possible. Applied to the alchemist himself, the twin goal symbolized his evolution from ignorance to enlightenment, and the stone represented a hidden spiritual truth or power that would lead to that goal. In texts that are written according to this view, the cryptic
alchemical symbols
, diagrams, and textual imagery of late alchemical works typically contain multiple layers of meanings, allegories, and references to other equally cryptic works; and must be laboriously decoded to discover their true meaning.
In his 1766 Alchemical Catechism, Théodore Henri de Tschudi denotes that the usage of the metals was a symbol:
Q. When the Philosophers speak of gold and silver, from which they extract their matter, are we to suppose that they refer to the vulgar gold and silver?
A. By no means; vulgar silver and gold are dead, while those of the Philosophers are full of life.
[19]
Incidentally, the Earliest Alchemists, Preceded the Medieval Period. While, According to the Same Wikipedia Reference:
"The introduction of alchemy to Latin Europe occurred on 11 February 1144, with the completion of
Robert of Chester's
translation of the Arabic Book of the Composition of Alchemy,"
[...]
Early alchemists, such as
Zosimos of Panopolis
(c. AD 300), highlight the spiritual nature of the alchemical quest, symbolic of a religious regeneration of the human soul.
"
Indeed, the afore-quoted Hermetic
Practitioners Derived Their Inspiration Directly from:
"The
Hermetica
of Thrice-Great Hermes, generally understood to form the basis for Western alchemical philosophy and practice, called the
hermetic philosophy
by its early practitioners. These writings were collected in the first centuries of the common era" (Itallics Mine, JEM)
Point is, this Piece may have even predated Medieval Times.
SIZE
: The Piece is 12 inches in Length. It Weighs 3.7 Ounces.
~ Where Vintage & Antiques are Concerned, There is No Such Thing as Holistic Expertise. As Always, if One of Our Viewers Happens to Know More About a Particular Genre of Collectible than We, Please Be Encouraged to Share. We Publish All Comments, Questions, and Responsible Speculation ~
NOTE: My Wife & I  are Collectors who Excel in Matters of Research. We Each Have MS Degrees; We are Both Ivy League Educated (Columbia & Cornell, Respectively).
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