Symbolica
A Body Consumed by the Furnace

A Body Consumed by the Furnace

Fire as the central motif, with the Vessel in a secondary part. From The Flamel figures.

After Nicolas Flamel, attributed, date not recorded.

Coloured etching from the Hieroglyphic Figures attributed to Nicolas Flamel.

Public Domain Mark · Web copy 1015 by 1400 px · Wellcome Collection

Key · 2 motifs

The motifs the picture carries, filed by role. The marks on the picture itself come with the entry.

  1. 1Firecentral motif
  2. 2The Vesselsecondary motif

The picture

A man in a wide hat stands by a furnace from which flames and a figure rise, a second furnace behind; a woman in white and a boy in blue beside them; roots under the ground, clouds with red figures above; Fire as the central motif, the Vessel by eye. By eye

Not yet decoded: the key and the sourced notes come with the entry. Until then the motifs above are tagged by eye and said so.

Also carrying Fire

5 works, 3 with it as the central motif. The symbol.

Also carrying the Vessel

7 works. The symbol.

In the same series

The Hieroglyphic Figures attributed to Nicolas Flamel

Record

Source
Wellcome Collection
Rights
Public Domain Mark. Wellcome Collection marks the work as free of known copyright restrictions.
Restoration
None. A 1015 by 1400 pixel web copy made from the source file; nothing retouched, nothing upscaled.
Series
The Hieroglyphic Figures attributed to Nicolas Flamel
Titled here
A Body Consumed by the Furnace. Wellcome Collection catalogues it as: A human body is consumed by a furnace; a woman holds a small red limbless effigy bearing a crown; a man holds a sheaf, and another a stick; below, by another furnace, a green and red dragon face each other, poised for combat; representing a stage in the process of alchemy. Coloured etching, ca. 18th century.
Checked
Wellcome Collection's own catalogue record, 4 September 2026: the rights, the maker, the date, accession g9uh4tjb. The title on this page is ours, as the line above says. Not seen in the gallery.
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One symbol a week, decoded.

This picture is free at full size from its source, linked above. What an address gets is the Sunday letter: one picture, one symbol marked on it, what it meant and who said so, and the master files of the decoded plates as they are verified. Leave any time.

Cite
Symbolica, “A Body Consumed by the Furnace”, After Nicolas Flamel, attributed, date not recorded. thesymbolica.com/work/a-body-consumed-by-the-furnace/