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C1556
(1560)
A. Chamber of the furnace B. Its bed C. Passages D. Rammer E. Mallet F. Artificier making tubes from litharge according to the Roman method. G. Channel H. Litharge I. Lower crucible or hearth K. Stick L. Tubes
Artist:
Georgius Agricola (1494 - 1555)
Rare woodcut from De Re Metallica printed in 1560, which was the the most famous study on all aspects of mining and metallurgy, and one of the first technological books of modern times. In certain places, as at Freiberg in … Read Full Description
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Full Title:
A. Chamber of the furnace B. Its bed C. Passages D. Rammer E. Mallet F. Artificier making tubes from litharge according to the Roman method. G. Channel H. Litharge I. Lower crucible or hearth K. Stick L. Tubes
Date:
C1556
(1560)
Artist:
Georgius Agricola (1494 - 1555)
Engraver:
Hans Rudolf Manuel Deutsch
(fl.1525 –
1572)
Condition:
In good condition.
Technique:
Woodcut
AUTHENTICITY
Genuine antique
dated:
1560
Description:
Rare woodcut from De Re Metallica printed in 1560, which was the the most famous study on all aspects of mining and metallurgy, and one of the first technological books of modern times.
In certain places, as at Freiberg in Meissen, the upper part of the cupellation furnace is vaulted almost like an oven. This chamber is four feet high and has either two or three apertures, of which the first, in front, is one and a half feet high and a foot wide, and out of this flows the litharge; the second aperture and likewise the third, if there be three, are at the sides, and are a foot and a half high and two and a half feet wide, in order that he who prepares the crucible may be able to creep into the furnace. Its circular bed is made of cement, it has two passages two feet high and one foot wide, for letting out the vapour, and these lead directly through from one side to the other, so that the one passage crosses the other at right angles, and thus four openings are to be seen; these are covered at the top by rocks, wide, but only a palm thick. On these and on the other parts of the interior of the bed made of cement, is placed lute mixed with straw, to a depth of three digits, as it was placed over the sole and the plates of copper and the rocks of that other furnace. This, together with the ashes which are thrown in, the master or the assistant, who, upon his knees, prepares the crucible, tamps down with short wooden rammers and with mallets likewise made of wood.
BOOK X – discusses how precious metals are separated from base metals.
Biography:
Georgius Agricola (1494-1555)
Agricola was a German Catholic, scholar and scientist. Known as “the father of mineralogy“, he was born at Glauchau in Saxony. His birth name was Georg Pawer (Bauer) and Agricola is the Latinised version of his name, by which he was known his entire adult life. Agricola, studied at Leipzig, Bologna and Padua and became town physician of the mining centre of Joachimsthal in Bohemia and physician at Chemnitz in Saxony from 1534 until his death. Living in mining regions all his life made it possible for him to study mining practices first hand and these direct observations made this series particularly valuable and effective.
The De Re Metallica embraces everything connected with the mining industry and metallurgical processes, including administration, prospecting, the duties of officials and companies and the manufacture of glass, sulphur and alum. The magnificent woodcut illustrations by Hans Rudolf Manuel Deutsch illustrate the different processes involved in mining and include mechanical engineering details such as the use of water-power, hauling, pumps, ventilation, blowing of furnaces and transport of ores.
Agricola made an important contribution to physical geology. He recognized the influence of water and wind on the shaping of the landscape and gave a clear account of of the order of the strata he saw in the mines. Writing on the origin of mountains, he descrivbes the eroding action of water as their cause with a perspicacity much in advance of his time.
The De Re Metallica was frequently reprinted and is said to have reached China in the seventeenth century. Interest in it was revived in the eighteenth century by Abraham Gottlieb Werner, and in 1912 it was translated into English by Herbert Hoover, afterwards President of the United States.
