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Submitted: June 6, 2009
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Alchemist's box: insideby ~ZombieArmadillo

Artisan Crafts / Other

A couple of months ago, by a strange and tedious set of circumstances I shan’t bore you with here, I come across this box of what appears to be certain alchemical ingredients and equipment, as well as a book that seems to have a related content (I’m afraid that none of the two languages in which I’m fluent, nor any of those of which I know a little, allow me to make much sense of it, so I’ll have to go by the visual cues here). I am at best an amateur antiquarian, so I cannot say for sure, but the box and book themselves appear to be several centuries old, although extremely well-preserved compared to most museum items of similar age. The equipment inside might have been replaced over time, so the age of some of those items may well be much more recent. Considering the socio-economic conditions of those times, it was most likely manufactured for someone with some measure of wealth and status.

The sigils that make out the center of the diagrams on the box lid and book cover are engraved with a coiled dragon biting its own tail, similar to certain reconstructions I have seen of the seal for the Order of the Dragon, and the motto ‘MORTUI NON MORDANT’ is inscribed around the edge. The fixtures around the box have been fashioned to resemble the wings of bats -- or, I suppose, dragons as they are usually depicted.

It is curious. Most curious indeed.

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Pictures of the box exterior is here (with fanciful description) and here (with some of the facts, ma'am). A detail of the inside view is here.

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~ArcanumTwilight Mar 29, 2013

Wonderfully magnificent.

*CrowFairy Mar 26, 2013 Professional Traditional Artist

Extremely cool and very authentic looking. Love the metal and leather work

~Arkaotic Dec 11, 2012

Does one do commissions of such pieces.

~ZombieArmadillo Feb 26, 2013

Sorry for the late reply, haven't been much on DA the past few months. Anyway, I am open for commissions for things like this, and indeed most of the kind of things I've made, unless it's something that requires some kind of specialist equipment that I can't get access to.

~Arkaotic Feb 26, 2013

And what would you price a commissioned replica of this piece at?

~crimsonedkisses Oct 9, 2012

I love the latin inscription.."The dead do not bite."

~ZombieArmadillo Oct 9, 2012

Well, I figured that it was rather apropos. You don't live (or, hm, unlive?) for some 500 years without acquiring some kind of sense of humour.

~Cersae Oct 9, 2012

Wow, just love this, really wish I could have one for display ( or pretend-a-tinkering ) [link]

~ZombieArmadillo Oct 9, 2012

Well, perhaps you should make an alchemy set of your own?

(This one would be for sale in theory, but in practice, a) it would not be very cheap, and b) I'd want to fix some things about it before letting it go. I've learned quite a bit in the few years since I made it. But I love seeing other people's takes on artifacts like this! ^^ )

~Rhissanna Sep 30, 2012 Hobbyist Artisan Crafter

This is glorious. I love the straps on the book and the neat insertion of the alchemical image into the lid. I'm a wee bit jealous of the glass apparatus too.

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